Acts of The Apostles The Unfinished Work of Christ by August Van Ryn PDF

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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
Other Books by August Van

Meditations in Matthew
Meditations in
Ryn
Mark
Meditations in Luke
Meditations in John
Ephesians:
The
Glories of His Grace
The
Epistles of
John
His Appointments
The Kingdoms
of
God
and of Heaven
ACTS
OF THE APOSTLES
THE UNFINISHED
WORK
By
OF CHRIST
August Van Ryn
LOIZEAUX BROTHERS
York
FIRST EDITION, OCTOBER
1961
COPYRIGHT
<g>
1961,
BY LOIZEAUX BROTHERS,
Inc.
Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's and to the Spread of His Truth
Work
Library of Congress Catalog Card Nwmber: 61-14601
PRINTED
EST
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Preface
THE BOOK of "Acts" naturally comes in order after the books of "facts" the four Gospels. As those tell us what the Son of God did and said during His perfect life of love, His death upon the Cross, His resurrection and ascension to God's right hand in Heaven, so the book of Acts delineates the doings and the ministry of the Holy came into the world to abide in the saints after Spirit, who the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the Gospels unfold the life of the Saviour, so the book of Acts follows with an account of the life of the
saints
lived
by
the
power of the
Spirit of
God.
begins with the formation of the Church at Pentecost by the descent and the baptism of the Holy when believers were united into one Body; Spirit,
tell of the spread of the gospel, the from of churches among Jews and Gentiles. It forming the of the us early years of Christianity and history gives the gradual development of Christian truth and practice, whose labors specially as committed to the Apostle Paul, and experiences occupy the largest part of the book.
The book
and it continues on to
Acts is an intensely interesting and instructive volume, I do trust that God will use my meditations on it to make His truth clearer to some, as well as to stir us all to increased devotion to Christ and His service.
and
AUGUST VAN RYN
CONTENTS
Preface
PART
Introduction
1
ONE ACTS CHAPTER BY CHAPTER

The Author
The Theme
13
The
Unfinished
Work of Christ
"Taken Up"
The Choosing
2
of Matthias
19 25 28
32 37
The Baptism
"Be This
of the Spirit
Known Unto You?
Baptism The Fellowship of Saints
40 44
47 50
The Lame Man Healed The Name of Jesus

Witnesses of the Resurrection
4
5
54
58
62
Ananias and Sapphira
6
7
The Appointment
of Deacons
Stephen the First Christian Martyr A Handful of Gems in Acts 7
64
69
72
73
Three Conversions Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus Trwo Miracles by Simon Peter

7
78 88
Contents
10
Priming the Preacher

Peter
92
Goes to Cornelius? Peter's Sermon

Simon Peter Rehearses
Home
96 97
100 102
105 106
107 108
Pisidia
11
Christians First at Antioch
12
Last Mention of Peter
The Death
13
of
Herod
Journey
The
First Missionary
Ely mas
the Sorcerer
Paul's Stirring
Sermon
to
The Reaction
14
in Antioch of PauPs Message
109
in
113
1
The Gospel Preached at Iconium The Healing of an Impotent Man

Persecution by Israel
at Lystra
14
Q entiles
Adoration by the
1
Paul Stoned at Lystra
115 16
15
The Council at Jerusalem The Second Missionary Journey
119
123
16
11
The Gospel
in Philippi
124
129 130 134 136
138
Paul at Thessalonica Paul at Athens
18
Paul at Corinth
The Third
19
Missionary Journey
Paul at Ephesus
20
Macedonia, Greece, Troas, and Miletus
140
Contents 21
Paul's Journey
to Jerusalem
9
142
Helpful Hints on Missionary Work Gleaned from PauFs Experiences During His First Three Journeys PauFs Arrest
22
142
PauFs Five Defenses PauFs Address to the Nation

PauFs Address Before the Jewish Supreme Council
Paul Before Felix Paul Before Festus
Paul's
x 5z
151
23
154
156
x
24 25 26
27
60
Apology Before Agrippa

to
162
PauFs Journey
Paul at Melita
Rome
166
173
28
On
to
Rome
174
PART
29
Infallible
Two SOME
SPECIAL SUBJECTS
179
187
Proofs (Acts 2:1-8)
30
31
The Upper Room (Acts 1:9-14) The Field of Blood (Acts 2:25-26)
Simon
Peter's Deliverance (Acts 12:1-17)
194
201
32
55
The Conversion
of the Philippian Jailor (Acts 16:19-34)
211
34
"Who Are Ye?"
(Acts 19:13-11)
219
io
Contents
35
Euty chits
Paul's
Fell
Down
(Acts 20:6-12)
224
36
Address
to the Elders at
Ephems
234
241
(Acts 20: 27-38)
57
"7 Verily
Thought imth Myself (Acts 26:9)

the Gospel
38
King Agrippa Hears

(Acts 26:12-18)
245
39
The Serpent and
the Fire (Acts 28:1-6)
249
PART ONE
Introduction
The Author
Although he makes no mention of his name, Luke undoubtedly is the divine instrument employed by God to write this peculiarly interesting and instructive book. Away back to the earliest centuries his authorship has been acknowledged by unbiased critics. He wrote the Gospel which we know- under his name as well. Both Luke and Acts are addressed to one Theophilus and bear evident marks of similarity of style, both in the identity of language (more than 40 words found in both books are found nowhere else in the New Testament), and also
in the
common use of medical terms. The opening reference to a former treatise known to Theophilus clearly marks Luke as the author of both Luke and Acts*
The Theme
is not to write biographies of either Peter for the or Paul, history of both men is left in mid-air, but to give the history of the introduction of Christianity as it takes the place of Judaism, which for many centuries had been the God-given religion. He shows how the Church is formed and how the work of preaching the
Luke's aim
from Jerusalem till it gospel of God's grace extended reached Rome, ever going westward. He has in view the
13
14
history of the
Acts of the Apostles
Church as a whole; not the growth of local but the advancement of this great New Testachurches, ment mystery, promised by our Lord in John 10: 16, conceived at Pentecost, and concerning which the truth was
only gradually revealed and taught. The Church is such a radical and absolutely new thing, contrasted with Judaism, that the full revelation of it was given but slowly. It took years for the new believers, impregnated as they
were by the teachings of Judaism,
to be delivered
from
Jewish thinking, ceremonies, and connections.
The
New
built in the
Testament, as shown by F. W. Grant, is form of a Pentateuch, patterned after the Pen-
tateuch of the
first five books of the Bible. The four Gosanswer the book of Genesis, giving us the beginto pels of ning things. Exodus pictures next the book of Acts, the giving story of the "going out" of the people of God, from not physical bondage, as in their deliverance from Egypt's slavery, but from the bondage of the law, which
was a servitude (a "yoke," as Peter calls it in Acts 15:10) which neither their fathers nor they were able to bear. Hence in the book of Acts grace takes the place of law,
Christianity the place of Judaism. Israel nationally is set aside, because in putting their Messiah on the Cross, the
nation as such finally and fully refused and rejected
its
King. In contrast to
of
all
this,
the children of
Acts presents the gathering together God believing Jew and Gentile
the Cross
united in one
Body by
Throughout the
tinually rejecting
book of Acts the Jews
(Ephesians 2:16). are seen con-
God's mercy, with the gospel going
Introduction
15
out ever more widely to the Gentiles. It begins to be preached at Jerusalem, then to Judea, to Samaria, and at last to the uttermost parts of the earth. Its reception
by
the Gentiles only increases Jewish hatred and opposition, and repeatedly we hear God's messengers declaring that
they will turn to the Gentiles. Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, displaces Peter on the page of inspiration, and more than half of the book of Acts is engaged with an account of his labors far and wide, under the guidance and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Israel is not on probation in Acts, but rather we read of its persistent attitude of ever-refusing and rejecting Christ. Away back in Matthew 23:39 the Lord Jesus told the Israelites that God had departed out of their midst, that their house was left unto them desolate, and that they were never to see the Lord again until they should say: "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." I do not believe that anywhere in Acts is there an offer made of Christ's reign over them as His kingdom on
earth, if
their
they would only receive Him as Saviour. Rather, determined sin in rejecting Christ is emphasized over
and over again. Peter urges his hearers to save themselves from this untoward generation, plainly intimating that, as to the nation as a whole, it had not changed its mind or
its
attitude towards the Christ since
it
had crucified
its
Messiah. Salvation was not offered to the nation as such, but to individuals who by faith in the Saviour would
thus separate themselves from the apostate nation of Israel. Only those who repented would be saved through
Christ and saved
from
Israel
and
its
religion.
Peter tells them in the third chapter of Acts that the Messiah was not coming back, for Heaven was to receive
things (and all the Old Testament prophets plainly show that this time of restitution lies still in the future, awaiting the hour when
Him till the times
of restitution of
all
Christ will
Israel
come to reign as King). Instead of offering another chance to acknowledge Christ and thus
set
have
Him
preached to cluding the Gentiles) for the acceptance of individual faith in Christ. Instead of Israel's being offered a second
up His kingdom on earth, the gospel is them (and to all that were afar off, thus in-
chance to
Christ as King, the apostles in their preaching charge them with unvarying hatred and rebellion. notable example of this is in Stephen's sear-
own
ing indictment of the nation as recorded in Acts 7, though Stephen was not one of the apostles. He rebukes
murderous hatred, and there is not the remotest sign of another chance offered to Israel; the same holds true throughout the book of Acts. The book closes with Paul preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ: a clear suggestion of what still is being carthe nation for
its
on today. The kingdom is not Christ's literal kingdom on earth, but the kingdom which one enters through new birth (John 3:5), while the believer is taught the
ried
precious things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, so fully revealed today through the ministry of Paul, who was specially chosen to be the minister of the Church.
Into the doctrines of the Christian faith the
book of
Acts hardly
enters, for Acts
is
history, not doctrine.
Introduction
17
There is, however, a gradual development of doctrine from the forgiveness of sins to justification to the believer's position today in the Church of God, which is
the
Body of
Christ.
Many make
the mistake of reading
ing
is
established doctrines into the book of Acts and of builderroneous conclusions as a result. Acts presents a
from Judaism into Christianity, and progressive history therefore fluid in its teaching. Today, with the full revTestament, Christianelation of God's Word in the
New
established and thus Christian doctrine is ity is now fully now static, completely unfolded in the New Testament
for history in Acts, for doctrine in the all will prove to be perfectly consistent and Epistles, and
Epistles.
Look
harmonious.
The
Unfinished
Work
of Christ
"THE FORMER treatise have I made,
O Theophilus, of all
Acts
i
:
that Jesus began both to do and teach"
This opening verse bids us look back to Christ's finished work, as recorded by Luke in the Gospel that bears his name, and bids us look forward by implication to His unfinished work, which He left for His servants to carry on during this day of grace, for our text says that Jesus began to do and teach. He laid the foundation at Calvary for His Church (Ephesians 2:20); the actual building of this Church is the privilege and responsibility of God's
the gospel people, as by the Spirit's power they preach saved and which souls are of God's grace by means of laid and true on Calbuilt upon this foundation, deep
vary's cross.
Gospels, one of which Luke reminds Theofacts concerning the Person philus he wrote, give us the as and work of Christ, and, John 20:31 states, they are written that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ and
The four
that, believing,
we
might have
life
through His Name.
Those who believe in Jesus should prove their faith by their works, so it is indeed fitting that the books of "facts" (the four Gospels), should be followed by the book of
"Acts." If
we
truly believe in Jesus,

19
we
are going to act
2o
upon
that belief; we are going to follow the example of Him who began to do and teach; and, when He returned
to Heaven, left us
down here to
continue the
work which
He began.
Gospels teach us that our blessed Lord finished He also left other work unfinished. In Him say: "I have glorified Thee on we hear John 17:4 the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest
The
one work, while
Me
to do."
And from
is
His cross
we
listen to
His trium-
phant shout: "It
finished" (John 19:30).
Lord
Perhaps the greatest commendation ever given by the Jesus is found in Mark 14:8, where of the woman
He said: "She hath done what she could." Throughout the Gospels we notice that the Lord seldom did things which others could do as well. For instance, at Lazarus' grave he told the
who
poured ointment on His head
bystanders to take away the stone. He alone could bring the dead man back to life, but others could move the
could take off the graveclothes. So Jesus and two fishes: He alone could miraculously multiply food in that astounding fashion; but the disciples could distribute the feast, and were told
stone,
also
and
broke the
five loaves
So today Jesus enlists every believer in His service to do what he can do; but before that He finished
to
so.
do
alone could accomplish the mighty work of and when it was so done He exclaimed: "It redemption,
finished." speak of it naturally as the "finished work of Christ." In simple terms: Christ laid the foundation for man's salvation in His precious atoning death on Calthat is a finished work. But during His life on earth vary;
is
work He
We
Unfinished
Work
of Christ (Acts /)
21
He began the work and ministry of preaching the gospel (see Hebrews 2:3-4), and this work He left zmfinished; He began to do it, as our text says. Many have said that this book should not be called
"the Acts of the Apostles," but rather "the acts of the Holy Spirit." The Spirit of God guiding, empowering, indwelling, etc. is seen often in this book. Without Him
all
human
effort
would be
fruitless indeed.
On the other
hand,
as
we must not forget that the Spirit uses you and me
serve the
His instruments, creating in our hearts the desire to Lord and furnishing the power to do so (Phi-
lippians 2:13). Let us for a
moment,
ere
we
consider this "finished

Christ
work
begin our study of Acts, of our Lord." What did
come
to do?
First of
all,
God
rested
He came to settle the great question of sin. after He had made Heaven and earth, but
rest was disturbed by the fall of our parents in the garden of Eden. God's rest was broken in upon and He began to work again, as Jesus says in John 5: 17. In
soon His
due time Jesus came to earth to do the Father's will, and that will was that He might offer Himself a sacrifice for
sins (Hebrews 10:9-10). Sin merits divine judgment and the Lord Jesus died on the Cross under the weight of our guilt, bearing our judgment. Only He could do that work and, praise His Name, He did it. That is therefore a finished work, nevermore to be repeated. Secondly, in His death the basis was laid to put away
our
(Hebrews 9:26). Not only are the sins of a in believer Jesus blotted out forever, but sin itself shall
sin forever
22
be completely done away with; someday sin and its awful consequences shall disappear forever. Only in hell will there be any sinners left, and even they won't be permitted to sin any more, for all rebellion against God shall be subdued: every knee shall bow and every tongue con-
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The work of the Cross Christ alone could do and did. But He left a work unfinished; He left it for us to carry
fess Jesus Christ as
work of preaching the gospel, and thus as the saves souls, seeing them built on the foundation Spirit laid at Calvary; seeing them added to the Church, which
on: the
is
the
Jesus.
of Christ, composed of all true believers in Every believer has the privilege as well as the re-
Body
sponsibility of investing his time, talents, that fruitful enterprise.
and
tithes in
is
a great work.
This unfinished work, which Jesus only began to do, The Lord assured His disciples in John
that they
were to do "greater" works than His, had gone back to the Father. Not greater in of for can course, importance, nothing compare with the infinite worth of the Cross, but greater in size and vol14: iz
after
He
went away He set the porter (typifying the Holy Spirit) to watch and gave to every man his work (Mark 1 3 34) Are you doing your share?
Jesus
: .
When
as the superstructure of a building is much than the as not foundation, though larger important.
ume, even
Remember these vital truths: i. The Lord can use you. Every member in
of Christ has a special function to perform.
the
Body
Unfinished
2.
Work
of Christ (Acts i)
23
God can use you just as you are. We do not all have
the same capacity, but man's individual ability.

3.
He gives talents according to each

grow
as
Your
usefulness will
you
use
what
little
you may have now. No one ever becomes a carpenter by

wishing to be one or by watching another do carpentry, but only by doing the work himself. You may be hesitant and blundering at first, perhaps, but crease in ability by doing.
4.
you
will in-
God
will use
you where you
He
ordains those
whom He
are, John 15:16 says chooses as His own. That
word ordain is the simple word put. As the gardener puts the plants where he believes they will do best, so the Lord puts you and me to bear fruit for Him.
5.
He
will supply every need, and will reward
you
well when payday comes, at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Jesus began to do and teach. Notice that the Lord did
first;
Jesus said,
then taught. How unlike the Pharisees, who, as "say and do not." Let us not be Pharisees. The
practised first, before told the rich young ruler to sell all he
Lord always
He
preached.
He
had and to give to the poor; He Himself had done that very thing: He for our sakes became poor that we through His poverty
might be rich. When He told the disciples to pray, "Thy will be done on earth," He added emphasis to that petition by Himself living a life wholly devoted to the Father's will
(John 6:38). The Lord taught by example as much as by precept, and example is far more potent than holy Hfe adds tremendous force to the mesprecept.
24
sage
tell
there.
we preach. May God
Alas,
how
sadly the
Church has
failed
help each of us to do and be before

do!
we
others
what to be and
After this brief reference in the opening verse of Acts to his Gospel, Luke speaks of the forty days our Lord spent with His disciples consequent to His resurrection, until He was taken up. They saw the Lord on a number of occasions, on one of which He told them to stay in Jerusalem until they should be baptized with the
Holy Spirit. Luke 24:49 records the The Lord reminds them of the words
tist,
actual statement.
of John the Bap-
would come and baptize with the Holy Ghost (Matthew 3:11). In Acts 1:5 the Lord
said that Jesus
tells
who
His
disciples that that
day
is
now close at hand,
"not
many
days hence."
Verse 6 indicates that the apostles still did not understand the purpose of God. They were still thinking of a literal kingdom here on earth, with Christ as Israel's King. They still did not seem to realize that Israel had definitely and finally rejected their Messiah; that God's
purpose was to gather out of the world a people for His name: of Jew and Gentile through faith in a crucified Christ, to form a new Body on earth the Church. The
Lord does not reply

not
till
directly to their question, because
be Christ's witnesses, as such beginand gradually reaching out to the utmost bounds of the earth. The book of Acts ning their ministry at Jerusalem,
He would fit them to
Holy Spirit came would they be fitted to understand fully God's Word, but He speaks of the empowering of the Spirit they were to receive in a few days.
the
"Taken Up" (Acts

livered
2)
2$
unfolds this apostolic ministry. Slowly they would be de-
from
that Israel as a nation
their Judaistic prejudices and would learn was set aside and that the Cross of
Christ
was to be the means to
unite
Jew and
Gentile into
one Body.
*Takm Up"
ACTS 1:2,9,11,22
FOUR TIMES we read of the Lord Jesus being taken up. Luke 24:51 says He was "carried up into heaven.'* The
suggestion
is that a mighty host of angels accompanied our risen Lord into Heaven, where the everlasting doors were thrown open, and the King of glory entered in
(Psalm 24), after having accomplished the mighty work of redemption at Calvary. Psalm 68: 17 connects an honor
guard of angels with the triumphant ascension of the Victorious Conqueror, after the victory won upon the Cross. read there that the chariots of God are twenty thouand then it goes on to say: "Thou sands of angels
We
on high, Thou hast led captivity captive," a passage which Ephesians 4:8 connects directly with Christ's ascension: These thousands of angels are called the "chariots of God," and since angels are called "flamhast ascended
26
thus chariots ing fire" (Psalm 104:4), these chariots were of fire the very term used when Elijah was escorted to
case was nothing glory (2 Kings 2:11). The chariot in his less than a host of angelic attendants* Even a believer's seems to get a heavenly escort, as Lazarus was carspirit
ried
relatives carry the
Ere mourning angels into Abraham's bosom. to the cemetery, believer of a body soul his and spirit a vast procession of angels has carried
by
to glory in a wonderful, though invisible to us, welcome. The Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ what a glori-
ous event
it is!
God
set
Him
at
His
own
right
hand
in the heavenlies, far above all principalities and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. "He
hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His Body,
the fulness of
Him
that filleth
all
in all."
This fourfold
repetition of being "taken up" in this chapter is to remind us that we as believers are not only to know and to preach
Christ as the
One
crucified,
but also as the glorified One.

is
The
Church's true message
that the
Son of
God glori-
fied is, from the glory, calling men to the obtaining of the glory (2 Thessalonians 2:14); that the Church is a heavenly Body with its Head in Heaven, and all its pur-
poses, aims,
1.
We read that Jesus did aad taught until the day He
and ambitions are heavenly.
up. He was ever the faithful and true witness, the very end, setting us an example to imitate. must not fail to live and preach Christ.,
was taken
till
We
2.
He was taken up
and a cloud received
Him out of
"Taken Up" (Acts

their sight.
*)
27
Henceforth His disciples were to walk enfaith. While on earth with their Lord, tirely by they had largely let Him do everything, as was proper. But now He is leaving them; and by the power of the which they were to receive on the day of PenteSpirit
now to go forth entirely dependent God. Though absent in body, the Lord would be upon with them in spirit, as He had assured them in Matthew 28:20, "Lo, I am with you always." From here on they were to practise what Paul urged on the PhiEppians: "But now much more in my absence, work out your own
cost,
they were
is
with fear and trembling." The Christian path one entirely of faith now, as then it was with them, for Jesus was taken up out of their sight. The Word of God is to be our authority and guide in everything. <c This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into 3. heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him
salvation
go into heaven"
verse n. Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives and when He returns to earth to reign shall come back to the very same place in the very same
way
4.
(Zechariah 14:4). "Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection"
verse 22. Yes, Jesus was taken up. He returned to glory to the Father but still His thoughts and eyes are here,
watching over His ransomed people, to His gracious

heart so dear.
He
encourages them, in these four pas-
the importation of the sages: by His own example; by them to take the place with be would who Holy Spirit,
28
of their absent Lord;
by the assurance that He would come back some day; and by making His disciples His
competent witnesses during His absence.

After the Lord had gone to Heaven, the disciples went to Jerusalem and into an upper room, where they continued in prayer for the ten days between the Ascension of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Three interesting subjects out of this first
chapter of verse
13,
the infallible proofs of verse 3, the upper room and the "field of blood" will be considered
more
at length
this
under the
list
of special subjects at the
end of
volume.
The Choosing
of Matthias, in the Place of Judas

ACTS 1:15-26
JUDAS COMMITTED
sad betrayer of the Lord of Peter glory. quotes from Psalm 109:8 to show that another was to take Judas' place among the twelve (Acts 1:20). Peter speaks with such absolute conviction and as-
SUICIDE
surance that it seems to

the
me unwise to question that he was
being guided by Holy Spirit. Various points are sometimes raised to suggest Peter and those with him made a mistake and that they should have waited till after the had come; that Paul Holy Spirit
Choosing of Matthias (Acts
z)
29
was intended to take Judas' place and
fill
out the com-
say some, did they upon them; why just two instead of a hundred or more? I believe the answer to
number of the plete choose two men and
twelve.
Why,
cast lots
that
is that there were only two qualified to take a place with the twelve. Undoubtedly there were very few who walked with the Lord all during the three and a half
years of His ministry, for Peter says they must have been read with them without a break during that period.
We
on one occasion that many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him. It is not likely that there were many who continued all the time; I suggest there were only two who met the qualifications. As to the casting of lots, the Tightness of which is also occasionally questioned, this was a familiar Old Testament way of deciding important issues, used not only by men, but upon the order and under the guidance of Jehovah Himself, as for instance in the dividing of the land to the twelve tribes. Proverbs 16:33 shows that "the lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." That the Apostle Paul was meant to be of the twelve and have the place given here to Matthias is, I
believe, untenable in the general light of Scripture, for the following reasons:
1. Paul himself in nowise ever hints that he should have been one of the twelve. In fact, he rather hints that he felt unworthy to be an aposde at all, because he per-
(i Corinthians 15:9). in the earlier chapters of Acts, before Saul's conversion the apostles are mentioned as
secuted the
2.
Church of God
Again and again
30

Spirit's inspiration (2:42-43; 4:33; 5: 12;
under the Holy
6:6; etc., etc.), never with the intimation that all the twelve were not recognized as such by God. In fact, in Acts 6:2 we read that "the twelve" called the multitude
of the disciples unto them. Here the Holy Spirit definitely recognizes Matthias as one of the twelve. This is
the
more striking when we know that
after the defection
of Judas, the apostles were known not as the twelve, but as the eleven (see Matthew 28:16; Mark 16:14; Luke
24:9, 33). That they are now called the twelve, after Judas has been replaced by Matthias, is a clear proof, in
my judgment, that the action of the disciples in the upper

room, when they chose Matthias,
correct.
is
justified as divinely
to note that Incidentally, it is interesting

is
John 20:24
an exception to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Though Judas was no longer with the disciples, John still calls them the "twelve," whereas all the others speak of them
as "the eleven." I believe there
thought and so was Judas;
here.
Thomas was
is a remarkable, solemn absent that resurrection day,
his absence
put him, to
all
outward apread he was
pearances, in Judas' class. That's
why we
one of the twelve, thus It could not be disciples.

his absence
still
including Judas
said that
among the Thomas was one of the
eleven on this occasion, though actually he was, for by he took the same place as Judas. The eleven
were the Lord's faithful followers, and that night Thomas was not faithful, for he was absent.
read again in Acts 2: 14 that Peter stood up with the eleven, himself of course the twelfth. Here being
We
Choosing of Matthias (Acts
/)
31
again the pen of Holy Writ acknowledges Matthias as one of the twelve. I believe it is a mistake to think Paul
should have been one of the twelve, for:
Paul was the apostle to the uncircumcision, while the others' special mission was to the circumcision* The twelve were apostles because they had been saved
by Christ on earth, and were to be witnesses of His wondrous life and death. Paul was saved by a Christ who had left the earth, and who reached this sinner from the glory, and so Paul was to be a witness of Christ in glory. The twelve had seen Christ on earth, which was a Paul had not, but had seen requisite to apostleship. Christ in glory (i Corinthians 9:1), which he tells us entitled him to be an apostle; but for that very reason an apostle in another way than were the twelve. They had been won to Christ during the time of
His humiliation; Paul after the hour of
his exaltation.
These considerations and others put Paul into an enfrom the twelve apostles. Their tirely different category the ministry largely has to do with Christ as Saviour, as he value of His death, and the believer's life on earth,
traveling on to Heaven ( i Peter i : i -4) . Paul's ministry, in sharp contrast, sets before the believer a Christ in in heavenly places and our glory, with all our blessings
is
inheritance already enjoyed by the ministry of the Spirit, who is the firstfruits of all that someday we shall enjoy by
sight.
As
the
two
ministries are different, so the
two
apostleships are separate.
The Baptism
"AND WHEN
were
all
of the Spirit
the day of Pentecost was fully come, they
with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And
fire,
there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of and it sat upon each of them.
all filled
"And they were
with the Holy Ghost, and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" Acts 2:1-4
It is said of
John the
Baptist, in each of the Gospels,
that he baptized with water, but that the
Lord was to
baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire. The Lord refers to this in Acts 1:5, saying the disciples were to be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
This shows that the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost is spoken of as the "baptism" of the Spirit, for it was
to take pkce, as Jesus said "not many days hence." tremendous event of the coming of the Holy
The
Spirit to
dwells in His Church, is therefore called the baptism of the Spirit. Since the Spirit came on this occasion, and has been here ever since (John
14: 16),
abide in this world as
He
and
this
coming is called His baptism,

is
we come to
only one baptism of the Spirit in given Scripture. Many speak today about a baptism of
3*
the conclusion there
Baptism of the Spirit (Acts 2)
33
the Spirit, but I do not think the Bible supports this thought. Not once after Pentecost, to which Acts i : 5 has reference, is the term "baptizing with the Spirit" found in Scripture. Peter says in Acts 1 1 1 6 that the event in Cornelius' home reminded him of what the Lord had said in Acts 1:5; but when the actual conversion of Cornelius took place and the Holy Ghost came upon those Gentile converts, the term baptize is not used; it is said that the Holy Ghost fell on them. On no occasion, either of those in Acts 8, or of the Ethiopian eunuch in the same chapter, or of Cornelius in chapter 10, or of those believers in Acts 19: 6 is the word baptize used. The only occasion is in i Corinthians 12:13, where
:
we
are told that "by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." This, in connection with the subject of that chapter, has in view the very thing that happened on the day of Pentecost the formation of the Church as the
i
of Christ by the baptism of the Spirit. The text in Corinthians 12: 13 is very exact. It does not say by one Spirit is each one baptized into the Body, as though it refers to the operation of the Holy Spirit at each individual's conversion, but "are we all baptized." It is a united action the forming of till-then-individual believers into the mystical body of Christ the Church. Nor does it say that each is baptized into the body, but all into one body. The oneness the unity of the saints is in view in this baptism. I believe in every case, unless stated to be die baptism Testament has in view of the Spirit, baptism in the
Body
New
the baptism in water.
34
When
the tabernacle was dedicated to
its
service in
Israel, the "glory of the Lord" filled it (Exodus 40:35) and when the temple of the Lord was set apart, again the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (i Kings
8:11). These two buildings were Old Testament types of the Church as God's spiritual house. So, as the Church,
the house of
God
built of living stones, is
about to be
ordained to be God's witness upon The Holy Spirit, unglory of the Lord fills it (Acts 2:2). der the simile of a mighty wind, fills all the house.
the earth, again the
The number three is prominent at this great event, perhaps to suggest the interest of the triune Godhead the Father who gave His Son, the Son who gave Himself, and the Spirit who is to make all this good to us and
through
1.
us.
The
Spirit did three things:
He
filled
the house
(verse 2); came into each of them to abide (verse 4) , for they
all filled
He came upon
each believer (verse 3);
He
were
with the Holy Ghost.
He
because the Church corporately is He came living God" (i Corinthians 3:16).

believer, to furnish
the house, the "temple of the

filled all
upon each
and testipower mony. The disciples were to be "endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). He filled each believer
for Christian
life
with Himself, for the indwelling Spirit has precious threefold ministry: for, in, and through the believer. He seals each for security; He gives the earnest the foretaste of
eternal blessings
service.
2.
for satisfaction; and
He
anoints for
In connection with the Scriptures, the
Holy
Spirit
Baptism of the Spirit (Acts 2)
35
furnishes: inspiration (2 Peter 1:21); revelation (i Corinthians 2:10); illumination (i Corinthians 2:13). to the pasty as a teacher, 3. As brings all things to remembrance (John- 14:26); as to the present, takes
He
He
the things of Christ and shows them unto us (John 1 6: 1415); as to the future, He will show us things to come
(John 16:13).
the world, He convicts it of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8-11).
4.
As to
The Spirit was accompanied by three phenomena: He

came
as a rushing,
mighty wind,
as
tongues of
fire,
and
as tongues. these three
He made Himself felt, seen, and heard. In we have suggestions as to the Spirit's ministry
the
in regeneration, sanctification,
and proclamation. 3, employed as a type of the Spirit in the work of new birth. The Greek word for same as that for wind. As the wind does not spirit is the blow with the same intensity, so the Spirit of God always
Wind. In John
wind
is
two people are saved alike, operates in various ways. or have the same spiritual experience. Some are won to Christ as it were by the sweet gentle breeze of His love
as by a fearful gale of does not always blow with hurricane force, so the Spirit does not convict every soul after the same manner. But in the case of every con-
No
drawing them; others are shaken
conviction and fear.
The wind
version,
it is
wind
is felt,
the Spirit's operation that though not seen by us.
is felt,
even as the
Fire. Fire is often used in the Bible in connection
with
sanctification or purification. Isaiah
4:4 speaks of cleans-
36
ing by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. In Isaiah 6:7 a coal of fire took away Isaiah's iniquity, and set his lips afire for God. "While I mused," says
David, "the
spake with my tongue" (Psalm 39:3). Fire set the incense aglow, and the fire of the Spirit burning in our hearts will set them on fire
fire
burned and
aglow with
case.
zeal
and devotion to Him. Here
we
have
sanctification
by
the Spirit, as regeneration in the first
Tongues. With those tongues touched by the
Spirit,
they began to speak, preaching the gospel to the multitudes gathered there. To us too has been committed the
we sing: "Oh ministry of reconciliation. Sometimes for a thousand tongues to sing." May God help us to use
we have! God confounded the languages at the tower of Babel; here by the Spirit He spoke to many thousands each in their own tongue to reach them with
the one the story of redeeming love. Peter explains to the crowd that this mighty event is a fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. It was only partial, partial
for in the future day of which Joel prophesied, the Spirit was to be poured out upon "all" flesh, and this certainly did not take place at Pentecost. It was a foreshadowing
of
Israel's
future conversion to
till
God
as a nation; a
con-
version then, and
today,
still
hindered
by
the nation's
continued rejection of her Saviour and Lord. Peter goes
on to charge the nation with that terrible sin and to offer, to those who would repent, remission of sins and the impartation of the Holy Ghost (verse 38).
"Be This
Known Unto You"
ACTS 2:14
WITH
this
THESE WORDS Peter opens his great sermon. Read powerful message in verses 14 to 40. It has been said
that Peter gives:

1.
An
2.
A proclamation
An
explanation concerning "this"
verse 12.
verses 22-36,
concerning "Him"
3. application concerning "them" verses 37-40. As to the first, some said the apostles were drunk. No, says Peter, not as ye suppose are these drunk (which is the sense of the passage, so I understand). They were drunk after a fashion, but not with wine, wherein is excess; but they were filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Wine gives an artificial exhilaration; the Spirit an
holy elevation.
incites
Wine
stimulates evil; the
Holy
Spirit
toward good. Man has that let-down feeling after the stimulation of wine recedes, but the Holy Spirit builds spiritual strength and stability of character. Men filled with wine often act foolishly; those filled with the forth the Word of God in truth and soberSpirit speak
Filled
ness.
with the Spirit, Peter and the others spoke (verse 4) This is very noticeable, in the book of Acts as well as elsewhere in Scripture, as in Acts 2:4; 4:8; 4:31; 9: 17,20; etc. In each of these cases being full of the Spirit
.
37
38
is
followed by "speaking." One of the true marks of a Spirit-filled saint is that he speaks.
audience that this phenomenon of men speaking the works of God was not something entirely unexpected, for it had been foretold by the prophet JoeL
Peter
tells his
The
Spirit
servants and handmaidens

plest believer,
was to be poured out upon all flesh; even were to prophesy. The simthe enablement of the Spirit of God, be able to tell forth the grace and glory of
by
would now God. This that took place at Pentecost was only
a partial fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, for the signs in Heaven above and earth beneath look on to Christ's future Com-
ing in judgment; when the nation of Israel shall be converted, then the Spirit shall be poured out on "all" flesh.
As to the second
point, Peter's
sermon here,
as well as
those in chapters 3, 4, and 5, strongly stresses Israel's sin in the rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah, and on
the other hand God's love in making that very crime on their part the basis for salvation. He proves his contentions by quotations from the Old Testament and winds
up
his charge
by
telling
them
that
God
same
It
is
Jesus,
whom
ye have
crucified,
made "that both Lord and

has
Christ."
has been noted
by many
the strong emphasis there
in these chapters on the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is mentioned in these sermons about twice as often as is
4: 33: "With great power the witness of the resurrection of the Lord gave apostles Thousands thousands saw the death of Jesus." upon for there were vast crowds in Christ, Jerusalem when
His death. As we read in Acts
"Be This
Known Uwto You"
(Acts 2)
39
our blessed Lord hung upon the cross; but not one eye saw Him rise from the dead, or saw Him after His resurrection, except His disciples only (see Acts 10:41). Therefore His resurrection needed far more emphasis,
had to be taken entirely by faith. Again, His was not unusual (from the outward aspect), for all men die; but His resurrection was not human in any way,
since it
death
but absolutely divine. None but He alone ever rose by his own power from the dead. Therefore, to believe in the
Resurrection of Christ
tantamount to confessing His deity. Confessing His deity in view of His resurrection is at the same time to confess the atoning value of His death; for if His resurrection proves He is God, then His death could not have been the death of a sinner, but of a Saviour. Hence, I believe, the Resurrection of our Saviour was so emphatically declared and still should be, for "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
is
shalt believe in thine heart that
God
hath raised
Him
from the dead, thou
shalt
be saved."
In the third place, they were pricked in their heart. wrong way because he used the wrong sword. When he chopped off Malchus'
Peter once used the sword in the
then Peter slashed a piece off on the outside. Here he used the sword of the Spirit and used it righdy to reach
ear,
the inside.
The Word of God is a sharp two-edged sword
stab, not dash. Sometimes preachers use the Scriptures to slash and smash and all they succeed in doing is to chop off pieces on the outside; they make big woonds with little results. The aim of God's Word is to
with which to
reach the inside-^the conscience and the heart.
Thus the
40
sword makes the smallest wounds but accomplishes the greatest and most permanent results. "What shall we do?" cried many. "Repent, and be of Jesus Christ for baptized/' said Peter, "in the name
the remission of
sins,
and ye
shall receive the gift
of the
Holy
Ghost."
Baptism
ACTS 2:38
THE WORD
OF
GOD
is
does not teach that one cannot be
saved unless he
ceived His
baptized. In fact, it teaches the opposite. In verse 41 of Acts 2 it states that they who gladly re-
gladly received the
Word were baptized; certainly those who Word of God were believers and
therefore, as believers, they were baptized. The same holds true in Acts 8:12, where the Samaritans believed
and were baptized. Even more pronounced is this thought Acts 10. Cornelius and his friends had already received the Holy Ghost before Peter ordered their baptism. Yea, Peter said: "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, 'which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" This in clear terms tells us that if they had not received the Holy Ghost, they would have been
in
ineligible for baptism; thus
baptism followed their con-
Baptism (Acts 2)
version
41
they were saved before they were baptized. The same order is found in Acts 18:8, where the Corinthians heard, believed, and then were baptized.
Acts 22
6 is sometimes cited as a proof that in baptism
one's sins are forgiven, but it is difficult to see how any true believer can make such a contention in the light of
the Scripture which says that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanseth from all sin. The explanation of Acts 22: 1 6 is of course that Paul there was told to wash
away
his sins himself.
He was told to
guilt before
do
it.
Does a sinner
wash away
his
own
God?
Certainly not.
Then baptism in water is simply the believer's act in washing away his sins in the sight of men. Washing is an
external act, not internal.
as it were, that says,
By
being baptized a believer

his sin.
he
is
through with
The same truth is presented in other ways to believers who already are in Christ, for if any man is in Christ he is a new creature (2 Corinthians 5: 17). Yet to such Paul
says,
"Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans
13: 14);
get in Christ, for that is what you do when you put on something. To those who already are in Christ Paul says to get in Christ. What is the exin other
words
planation?
as Saviour,
The explanation is that, by our faith in Christ
for
Him,
God places us in His Son; by our daily living the world sees us in Christ. The one is our posiGod; the other our position before men. This
tion before
is
Galatians 3:27: Christ have put
the very thought in connection with baptism as in "As many as have been baptized into
on
Christ."
By faith we
are in Christ beit is
fore
God; by baptism we
are in Christ before men;
42
our confession where they can see and

that
know
it,
proving
we
are Christians.
is
In our text in Acts 2:38, Peter
not implying that
by
being baptized they would receive remission of their sins. The word "for" is "unto." It simply states that their repentance would lead to the remission of their sins: it would be "unto" remission of sins; and this is still just as
true today.
We have already seen that their baptism fol-
lowed upon their faith (verse 41). Their baptism showed the reality of their repentance. The same is true of those passages in Mark 1:4 and Luke 3:3, where it is said that
John preached the baptism of repentance for [unto] the forgiveness of sins. There was no salvation at all in that
baptism, for John himself said he only baptized with water, but He that is to "come after me ... He shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost." So does Acts 19:5 prove that John's baptism was not Christian baptism at
all,
for otherwise Paul
would not have baptized those

this
disciples of John again
time in the
Name
of Jesus.
A Scripture used by advocates of conversion by bapis i
tism
dient,
when once
Peter 3:20-21: "Which sometime were disobethe longsuffering of God waited in
the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls wore saved by water. The like
figure whereunto even baptism doth also ... by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
tion
is
now
The
save us
conten-
that Noah's and his family's salvation in the ark illustrates how today people are saved by
baptism.
I once asked a
Mormon
elder,
who advanced
this idea,
Baptism (Acts 2)
if
43
he would please tell me who were baptized in Noah's day the saved or the lost? Not a drop of water touched
his family; all those who went into the water of baptism were drowned. It puzzled him a bit and he
Noah and
replied,
"Then, what does it mean when it says they were " saved by water? The answer is that it means just what it were saved by water, but not the water that says. They
on them, for none feU on them. They were saved by the water that fell on the ark. The waters burst from
fell
beneath (typical of man's hatred and wickedness that nailed the Son of God to the cross), and the waters came
from above
(typical of the judgment from above which our blessed Saviour bore on the cross). Yes, those waters
typify the waves and billows of judgment which lifted Christ our Ark of safety up on the cross. It is by that
redemptive
work
that
we
are saved.
us.
judgment
fell
on Him; not on
We
family we who are believers are safe are saved by the baptism of judgment Christ
at Calvary;
Those waters of Noah and his and secure in Christ.

Like
knew
by the baptism of water. The text in i Peter does not say that we are saved by baptism. It says
not
that baptism
a "like" figure. Both Noah's ark and baptism prefigure the same thing; they picture the work of Christ as He bore our sins and rose victoriously
is
from the dead. There is a progression of truth in regard to baptism in the book of Acts. In Acts 2, where the message is directed to the Jews who had crucified Christ, the command is die Holy Spirit." "repent, be baptized, ye shall receive
44
Their repentance of the act of crucifying their Messiah was to show the genuineness of their conversion and be
proven by their baptism. In Acts 8, where the gospel goes forth to the Samaritans, the "repent" is left out; they believed the message concerning the Name of Jesus Christ. Then they were baptized and received the Spirit. In Acts 10, with the
gospel this time preached to Gentiles, there is the preaching of the Word, followed by faith, and this in turn by the impartation of the Holy Spirit, and then baptism because they were believers. And this latter order is conthe Bible, for the gospel sistently followed in the rest of
today goes out to

fession,
It
all
men
alike.
Baptism
is
simply a con-
on the part of the
believer, of his faith in Christ.
has no saving virtue, but will have a sanctifying influence upon the heart and life of the believer who in
this
way- has publicly taken a stand for
Christ.
The
Fellowship of Saints
ACTS 2:41-47
THREE THOUSAND were saved: a large number and yet how few, when the whole nation should have turned to
God. But
it
was a time of great
The
Lord's prophecy in John
rejoicing nevertheless. 10, that He as the good
Fellowship of Saints (Acts 2)
45
Shepherd would lead His
own sheep out from the sheepwas now carried fold, out, for in this new society being called the Church only those who believed came together
.
(verse 44) One of the great blessings of Christianity is the fellowship of saints. In Judaism no provision was made for the gathering together of the people, except on occasions as at the annual feasts. The Tabernacle special
and Temple were no meeting places for ministry or fellowship. But devout folk even then longed for get-togethers; eventually synagogues were built, of which we read so much in the four Gospels and in the book of Acts. Their origin is obscure. Some scholars claim their impetus came at the time of the Babylonian exile and that
they were continued ever since. The urge to come together could not be so strong then as it is now, for in
Judaism believers and unbelievers were all together and there can be no real fellowship between them. But, oh
to
what a privilege it is to meet with others of like mind and do what these early believers did, as recorded in verse
42:
"They continued
stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine
and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." In this fourfold purpose for coming together we recognize the four different kinds of meetings prominent
among us
1
.
The teaching or preaching of the Word of God. We

apostles' doctrine in the written
to this day:
have the
New
Testa-
ment Scriptures. Teaching is mentioned first, for a knowledge of God and of His ways is vital to intelligent, vibrant Christian life and testimony. 2. Fellowship with saints. Believers should meet to-
46
gether, in separation from the world. There is nothing for the soul of the saint in this sinful world. One feels
but oh! how good it is to get "home" and sisters in Christ. brothers among 3. Breaking of bread. Some say this verse does not allude to the Lord's supper, but it would hardly seem necessary to state that these Christians kept on eating their daily meals, I believe we see here how those early believers honored our Lord's last request to remember Him in the breaking of the bread and partaking of the fresh and sweet the Saviour's last words would cup. be to them. May they be so to us, too!
like a stranger in
it,
one's
own
How
4.
In prayers.
So in these four we have the ministry meeting; that for fellowship and social intercourse; our worship service when we come together to remember Him "until He come"; and last, but not least, the meeting for united prayer. They continued stedfastly in those; may we do the same. Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is! Those were the bright, happy days of first love. Too bad that nothing lasts very long when man has something to do with it. Oh, that we may value more those
inexpressibly precious privileges; yet
how many
neglect
them
sadly.
The Lame Man Healed

ACTS 3:1-16
BEGGAR, lying at the gate of the temple, is, I a believe, picture of the nation of Israel. This man's condition reminds one of a similar one in John 5, where the
THE LAME
Lord Jesus Himself performed the miracle of

that
restoring
one,
who had been
afflicted
thirty-eight years.
Those
thirty-eight years are reminiscent of the thirtyeight years Israel wandered in the wilderness, illustrating how Israel was unable spiritually to walk to the glory
of God. This
it,
for he
is
man is near the Holy Place yet so far from unable to enter. So Israel, instead of entering
to present their gifts to God, are outside, scattered throughout the world, begging alms from men. They
were under the law, which they broke (as did all of us); <6 a law called in Galatians 4:9 the weak and beggarly elements.'* Weak because man is without strength to do God's will; beggarly because, like with this lame man, it
leaves the sinner a beggar. It is only the free grace of God that can bestow true riches and can change the beg-
gar into a millionaire, blessed with the unsearchable riches of Christ. Israel is seen here (typified by this beggar) outside the temple, for as a nation they were away from God. But Jesus Himself was outside too, for in
47
48
Matthew 23:38 He said that their house was left unto them desolate. Rejected by Israel, He too was on the outside. And by the power of the Name of the rejected Saviour this man is made whole. For beggarly sinners
outside an
empty temple there is hope in the very Saviour
is on the outside too. An empty religion they refused. leaves men beggars. But praise God, there is hope in the
He
Name
is
and only in His Name of Jesus! This lame man was laid at the gate of the temple which
called Beautiful. I understand that this gate, furnished by Herod, was made of precious Corinthian brass 80
feet high and 65 feet broad. It took about twenty close it. But we know of a gate more beautiful
Israel did
men to
a gate
not recognize a door into the very presence of God, for Jesus is the Door. Only through Him is there entrance into the holiest of all.
-
Lying there daily, helpless, this man might well have begun to think that God's blessing was only for those who were whole, not for the sick or deformed. He could not enter, no matter how much he wished to do so. The law likewise has a message only for the strong; only the righteous need apply. But God's grace is offered to all to the sick and helpless, the weary and heavy-laden. Peter and John came at the ninth hour the hour of prayer. This was the hour when the daily burnt offering was offered upon the altar; the very hour our blessed Lord died. It was the hour when the incense was burned
upon the golden altar, speaking of Christ in His perfecwas in view of the value of the death and worth of Christ that blessing came to this poor beggar.
tion. It
The Lame Man Healed
(Acts 5)
49
"Silver and gold have I none/' said Peter. If that is what you are looking for, do not look to Christ. He does not promise to those who believe on Him material gain.
Usually it is the poor who listen to the gospel. Faith in Christ does not make them rich with earth's goods, but
makes them rich in faith and heirs of the coming kingdom. Money has great value in many ways but it cannot atone for sin, ease sorrow, or relieve suffering. It can buy a fancy tombstone, but it cannot take the sting out of death or cancel divine judgment.
Peter had no money, yet he could impart a blessing all the money on earth cannot buy. Like Paul, so Peter and
any believer
can make
It is
many
rich,
though poor in
great to be God's messenger, with earthly goods. the right to dispense wealth that goes beyond all human
Peter brought this cripple great riches, without becoming poorer in doing so. God's grace too
calculations.
is
yet makes Him no poorer. In fact, the more we give away of God's bounty, the greater our store of it becomes.
for
all,
the right hand and lifted him up. This suggests that the beggar held out his hand too, so that Peter might grasp it. That is how God's saving
Peter took him
by
grace is imparted. Hands are used for receiving as well as for giving. God's big hand is full of love and grace;
all
the sinner needs to do
is
hold out his
little
hand and
receive.
And,
it is
after
we
have received from Him,
how
to give now to others. pleasant The healed man not only walked, but leaped, and entered with them into the temple, praising God. Not only
50
was he healed
had come to rephysically, but his soul and soul. in the was healed he Lord; joice body First Peter held him by the hand (verse 7); then the
beggar held Peter (verse n). They continued holding hands. The beggar did not hold Peter and John for the sake of support, for he leaped; he did not need to hold them for that reason. No doubt he held the apostles'
hands out of gratitude; in the joy of happy fellowship and identification with these newfound friends. So it is well, when one is saved, to cling in fellowship and to stand by the side of those who have brought us to Christ.
Later
we
read (Acts 4: 14) that
when
it.
the Jewish leaders

apostles,
testi-
saw the man who was healed standing with the

they could say nothing against
Immediately his
mony What
for Christ counted.
a difference now! Not a beggar on the outside, but rejoicing and praising God on the inside (verse 8). This drew crowds who were impressed by the miracle and Peter used the opportunity to preach the gospel to
them*
The Name
of Jesus
ACTS 3:16 THAT "NAME" is found thirty-three times in the book of Acts, far more than in any other book of the New
The Name
Testament.
six
of ]esus (Acts 5)
51
We
find
Him
mentioned by that
Name
4 in connection with the ministry of and six times in chapter 9 in connection the apostle Peter, with Paul.
times in chapter
is
a name! Sometimes, when one a a friend favor, seeking may direct you to someone else and say, 'When you see him, mention my name." The use of a name may mean a good position for you; it
How much there is in
may get you some special privilege; it may

a death sentence. But a
even reprieve
not go beyond the

ture has
human name has limits. It does human sphere. No name of any creaweight with
any
special
God He
honors folly
only one name
yond
of Jesus. No creature is bethe reach of that Name. All animate and even inthe
Name
animate creation acknowledges the power of that Name. Says Peter to the men of Israel: "His name through
faith in
His name hath made this man strong" (Acts 3:16). All blessing is found in that Name, and faith releases that power for our benefit. Even in this world one must have
authorization to use another's name. Christ never gave His Name to sinners to use, unless first the sinner has
believed
on His Name, and thus has become a
child of
that, there is untold blessing believer in that Name of Jesus. the available for
God
(John 1:12). After
We are encouraged to ask what we will

of Jesus.
in
in the
Name
We have the assurance of His presence, when we meet

His Name.
We
are to depart
from iniquity when
we name
the
Name of Christ.
52
In chapter 3 Peter declares the worth of the precious of Jesus, as he spoke to the common people. In chapter 4 he is brought before the impressive conclave
Name
when asked by what power the lame man, he again dehe healed name what by clares that it is through "the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from
of the Jewish leaders and
or
by Him doth this man stand here before whole." And then, implying that this physical healyou was but an of God's way of saving a illustration ing
the dead, even
soul (as
all
such miracles in the Gospels and in Acts are),
Peter passes from the physical to the spiritual aspect in saying in verse 12 "Neither is there salvation in any
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Look at this full declaration of the gospel in this text. There are at
other; for there
is
least three interesting things here: 9 1. There "is? salvation. Praise God, Peter did
not have
to say there "was" salvation. Neither could he say there "will be" salvation, for only God knows when the
day
of grace shall end, when it will be forever too late to be saved. Are you saved? Remember that today is the
day
of salvation; not tomorrow.

2. Salvation is not in any other. It is not in yourself, not in the priest or the preacher, not in the church, not in your parents. It is only and alone in Christ. Jesus alone can save.
in the Name of Jesus. Years ago a common catch phrase used to be, "What's in a name?" There may be so much in a name.
3. It is
The Name
of Jesus (Acts 3)
53
When I first began to devote my time to preach the Word in dependence on the Lord for support, someone a big sum in those days. I sent me a check for $50 presented it at a local bank, but they refused to give me the
cash because they knew neither the signer of the check nor me. After a few days I found a Christian in that town, who kindly endorsed the check for me. He was a
terrible scribbler, could
not write nearly as well as I could, but after the teller took one look at that signature, he paid me the $50 without hesitation. There was
$50 in that man's name for me. There
is
eternal life for
every sinner in the Name of Jesus. I imagine there are many who think that, when they stand before the throne of God, they will say to Him:
contributed of
was a member of the church; I my money to religious work; I did this and that and the other." But God will look at them as the bank teller looked at me and will say, as it were:
"Don't you
I
know me?
The You should have His signature on your check. In His Name you may have everything; without His Name nothing.'*
"I
am
only name
sorry, but we never heard of you up here. that counts here is the Name of Jesus.
To
all
sinners at the
judgment throne will come the ver-
"Depart, I never knew you." This Name counts for salvation, as our text says, only under Heaven. As we read in Matthew 9:6, the Son of
dict:
Man hath power on earth to forgive sins. There is no salvation once man has left this earth. God hath highly exalted Him and given Him a Name above every name. May you too honor this precious Name!
Witnesses of the Resurrection
ACTS 4^3-33
THERE ARE four major addresses by Simon Peter; one in each of chapters 2 to 5. Some are addressed to the common people, others to the leaders of the nation. Peter boldly witnesses for his Lord. While once he himdenied the Lord, now he charges the leaders with the same sin (Acts 3: 14). He denied his Lord because of
self
cowardice; they because of diabolical hatred and envy. bitterly repented of his grievous sin, and so he urges his hearers to repent too, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus. Such plain talk cut to the heart, and they took counsel to sky the apostles (Acts 5:33). Peter and the others proved the promise of the Lord
But Peter
said, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me." Peter tells them: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath
. . . to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are repentance His witnesses of these things. . . " (Acts 5:30-32)
who
God
exalted
54
Witnesses of the Resurrection (Acts 4)
55
Special emphasis was laid by Peter upon the Resurrection of the Lord. It is mentioned some twelve times in
the
first five
chapters; as in Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15; 4:2;
4:33; etc.
is of the most His death would extremely have been the most awful tragedy; without it we would still be in our sins (i Corinthians 15:17). With it, His death proves to be indeed a mighty victory over all evil;
The
Resurrection of our Lord

importance. Without
it
vital
the delivering power to everyone who believes in Jesus. For He was delivered for our offences and raised again
for our justification. His enemies had so hoped that by nailing Him to the cross, they would forever be rid of Him; but now they
Name more than ever before. As they say in Acts 5:28: "Ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." Ah, they were finding out that the Saviour's death was not the end, but rather the beginning of everything. He arose, as some day they shall be raised from the dead. Death neither his own death nor the death of Christ does not
hear His
does just that for the get the sinner out of trouble. But it believer in Jesus. Christ's death puts away the believer's
sin;
and
my
death will be the gateway to the glory
above.
"Ye intend
they.
But
to bring this man's blood upon us," said stated they had done that themselves, as they
before Pilate: "His blood be on us, and on our children" (Matthew 27:25). The blood of Christ is upon every soul either for salvation or for damnation.
Listen to Peter's charge before the Sanhedrin in Acts
56
God
5:29-32: "We ought to obey God rather than men. The of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and
hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him." Note
Peter's God-consciousness.
He speaks of God four times.
When
there is a clash between the commands of men and the command of God, no doubt can exist. must have died God man. How than rather for many obey
We
preaching Christ,
when
the authorities of earth forbade
them to do
strong words must have impressed at least one of his hearers. Gamaliel says: "If it be of
so. Peter's
God, ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found even to fight against God." God raised up Jesus; God hath highly exalted Him; God gives the Spirit to those
who obey Him.

There are three
It is
important to be on God's
side.
certainties in this passage of Scripture:
The
certainty that
God
'works (which
we
have
just
considered).
The certainty of Christ, expressed in the following three certainties:

(i)
The
assurance that
He who
died was raised from
by the Father. God's raising His Son sets His of stamp approval upon the infinite worth of the Saviour's death. (2) His exalted rank in the glory, for He
ascended far above
all
the dead
principality
and power. (3) The
certainty of His mighty saving power, for
He is the Sav-
Witnesses of the Resurrection (Acts 4)

iour, dispensing forgiveness of sins every believer.
57
and rich blessing to
certainty of the apostles o<wn calling. They were sent to bear witness to what they had seen and heard
The
(Acts 4:20); and they would do so, even it meant suffering or martyrdom for His sake (Acts 5:41-42). Being let go by the rulers, the servants of Christ went to their own company (Acts 4:23). In Acts 1:25 we read
is
went "to his own place." sad when hell as one's "own" of much more prespoken place. cious when the saints are spoken of in Acts 4: 23 as "their own" company. Freed by the authorities, these preachthat Judas
ers just gravitated naturally to the gathering of the be-
How How
lievers. Is that
where you go when

free to go?
business or household
duties set
you
a wonderful prayer meeting these believers had (verses 31-35). There was great quaking, followed by great power, with great grace
What
have not covered every verse (nor intend doing have covered in general the truth set forth in the but so) first five chapters. These are marked by the fiery preaching of the great facts of the Christian faith the death and resurrection of Christ; by the response on the part of many who turned to Him in saving faith and gathered together to His Name alone; and by the corre-
We
upon them
all.
sponding opposition and persecution on the part of the unrepentant leaders.
Ananias and Sapphira

ACTS 5:1-11
THEY WERE
bright,
happy days of Christian love and
We
had
fellowship those early days of the Church's history. read frequently of "gladness of heart, of praising God, of rejoicing." All that believed were together and
all
things
Word believed;
all this
common. Many of them which heard the multitudes were added to the Lord. And
in spite of bitter persecution.
The
hatred of the
world has never done the Church any harm; times of suffering have always been times of spiritual power. Persecution from without drives the sheep of the flock closer together, as happens when wolves attack the sheep. But once let the wolf get inside the flock and then he scatters the sheep. That is the sad story now related regarding Ananias and Sapphira. The devil got inside. Corruption from within is far, far more dangerous than opposition from without. It is
for this reason that God dealt with it so harshly; the Father judgeth every man's work (i Peter 1:17). read in Acts 4:32 that all who believed were of
We
one heart and one soul and that they had all things common. brother named Barnabas (later Paul's fellow
58
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts j)

kborer) having land, sold
it,
59
brought the money, and Probably Barnabas' example led Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, to pretend equal devotion, thus perhaps hoping to gain influence and respect. But they gave only part of the money from the sale of a piece of property, while pretending to give it
laid it at the apostles' feet.
This would seem a small thing to be visited by such a severe penalty, wouldn't it? There are a number of possible replies to such a query:
all.
1. It was the first seed of impurity sown in this glorious harvest of Pentecostal blessing. Real love was being displaced by hypocritical pretense; seed which has produced a horrible harvest all during the history of pro-
fessing Christendom. 2. sin is little. Witness the harvest of suffering this
No
world has reaped from Eve's eating of one piece of fruit. There it was open disobedience; here it was pretended
obedience.
5.
Sid
than
among among the
the people of God is far more serious believers are so well acunsaved.
We
quainted with die wonderful grace of God.that we are apt to forget that sin in a Christian is no less heinous than in a sinner; in fact it is more so, for with die believer there is no excise for it whatever. If God does not smite us dead today when we sin, as happened here to Ananias and Sapphira, it is not because it is less obnoxious in His
sight,
but only because in grace
He
i
tempers judgment
Corinthians
1
now. Yet even today, according to
1:30,
God
will take belie-vers out of the
their lives
world by death if are conastendy dishonoring to Him. I have
60

this
no doubt
saints that
summary judgment was executed
to
tell
God
does not condone sin in His people in
any way.
smote these two to indicate that morally the have a sample of His judgment wages of sin is death. under grace, as there is also a sample under law, as seen
4.
God
We
in the case of the
man who picked up sticks on the Sabbath day (Numbers 15:32-36). If God had continued that same severity of judgment, every Jew in the Old Testament would have been stoned to death, for none
of them ever kept the law completely. If God today visited with death every Christian whose pretense is greater
than his performance, not one of us would be alive. That judgment under law and this one under grace are samples,
to remind us always that

as in sinners
God
hates sin
in us as
much
indeed, even more so. God hates sham. It is a healthy lesson to learn and ponder. There seems to be almost a play upon a word in the
name of this man Ananias, which means "the Lord has shown grace." Because the Lord has shown grace, this
furnishes us with
selfish ends.
no excuse to prostitute that grace for Grace is no license for sinning, but should
living.
be the strongest possible incentive to holy

grace of
The
God
teaches
live
worldly
lusts,
and to
deny ungodliness and soberly, righteously, and godly

us to
in this present world.
Some have
were
real believers, but I
questioned whether Ananias and Sapphira am sure there can be no doubt
as to that. Scripture clearly
shows elsewhere that the
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5)
61
Lord does not judge sinners now, but He does judge His own people. Judgment must begin at the house of God
(i Peter 4:17). I Corinthians 11:31-32 teaches the
same
thing.
The Appointment
of Deacons
ACTS 6:1-7
ANOTHER EVEL
a
arose, also within the
Church. There was
murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution perhaps food or money. These Grecians were Jews as well as the others. There had always been a jealousy and rivalry between those Jews who had wandered to other countries and those who had stayed in the "old" country. Even true believers often are not immune to
these nationalistic differences.
Hitherto the apostles themselves, in addition to their proper ministry of preaching Christ, had apparently attended to the physical needs of those among them. But they say that it was not right that they should leave the
Word
of
God and
serve tables.
How many
preachers
need to realize that it is their business to preach Christ not to serve on committees, or to raise money, or to engage in social welfare. There are others to attend to such things, 'which are important in their own place. But
as the apostles said, will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word." They put
first place. Oh, how little time most of us take for prayer! And, if we are continually to minister the Word, we need much time for prayer, study, and
<r
We
prayer in the
62
'Appointment of Deacons (Acts 6)

meditation.
63
many messages lack for an evident of paucity thoughtful search of the Scriptures, and are because not watered abundantly by "It is dry
prayer.
How
needful to take time to be holy." Let others tend to tables. That is the ministry of deacons, which simply means servants who lowly minister to the needs of God's people. Yet such too should be
men
of godly life, wise and gracious. Their qualifications are given in i Timothy 3:8-13. The congregation here chose them, but the apostles appointed them (verse 3).
dedicated to their service
They were
by prayer and by
the laying on of the hands of the apostles, who thus expressed their fellowship and approval of their service.
It is
lovely to see that these seven men, chosen to look
after the distribution of material things, cian Jews, as their names indicate. Since
were
it is
all
Gre-
the Gre-
the saints reply by selecting men from their own group to serve as deacons. What a wonderfully gracious way to settle this incipient trouble! If
cians that
found
fault,
the Grecians felt they could not trust their Hebrew brethren, they now learn that their brethren are ready to trust them. That is tardy rewarding evil for good.
What
settled in
all differences among believers could be such a humble, Christlike way! <c read in i Timothy 3: 13 that they who have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good
a joy if
We
degree, and great boldness. jn the faith

Jesus."
which
is
in Christ
fully demonstrated here in Acts. At least two of these that we know of Stephen and Philip became outstanding ministers of the Word. One of these
This
is
64
Stephen spoke with such power that his enemies could not resist the spirit and wisdom by which he spoke.
The
other
blessing as
was to go to Samaria and see great Philip he preached Christ to the Samaritans.
Stephen, the First Christian Martyr
WE QUOTE here the closing seven verses of this wonderwhole chapter through
once. It
in all the
is
ful seventh chapter of Acts, but urge the reading of the & few times is better than just
to
me
one of the most
soul-stirring chapters
Word of God.
they heard these things, they were cut to
"When
the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up sted-
and saw the glory of God, and the on Jesus standing right hand of God, And said, I the see heavens Behold, opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. "Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord. And cast him out of the and stoned him: and the witcity,
fastly into heaven,
nesses laid
down
their clothes at a Saul.
young man's
feet,
whose name was
Stephen, First Christian Martyr (Acts 6)
65
"And they
saying,
Lord
stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled
down, and
asleep"
cried
sin to their charge.
with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this And when he had said this, he fell
Acts 7:54-60
is not making an apology; he is not defendhimself before this august council of Israel's religious ing leaders; nay, he is their judge, passing God's sentence on
Stephen
them.
the
As
another has
said:
"He
is
here the national con-
science aroused
is
is
memory
by the power of the Spirit of God; he of the people, edged and sharpened; his
the voice of challenge and of conviction." Stephen's death at the close is but the re-enactment of the death
nounced
of Christ; his judgment of the nation an echo of that proat the Cross (John 12:31).
Stephen was a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and is singled out from the other six in chapter 6. Full of faith and power he did great wonders and mirathe people (verse 8). For the first time we hear of miracles being done by another than one of the
cles
among
aposdes. Probably this special power was given to Stephen because he was about to face the whole nation, and
his ability to
do these grfcat wonders would all the more add emphasis to his searching arraignment of the people; they would prove that he came empowered by divine
credentials.
There
is
a striking
similarity in
some
features con-
nected with Stephen and those of our blessed Lord Himself. It impresses me that Stephen's martyr's death is
66

fact that his rejection is but the rethe nation of Christ Himself. It is
Israel set as to their
meant to point the

iterated rejection
the exclamation
by mark to the period
destiny at Calvary. Jesus did miracles to prove who He was; Stephen did miracles to demonstrate that his mission
was of God. Both were accused by false witnesses, with charges remarkably similar. Compare Acts 6: 13-14 with Matthew 26:60-61. Here in Acts 6: 12 we read for the first time that the rulers and elders stirred up the common people, even as
in
Matthew 27:20 they persuaded the multitude

Christ's crucifixion.
to de-
mand
Stephen out of the city (Acts 7:58), even as our Saviour was led outside the city to be crucified. Stephen prayed for his murderers (verse 60), even as
They
cast
the Lord on the cross prayed: "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do."
Stephen committed himself to the Lord as he prayed,
"Lord
into
Jesus, receive
my
spirit,"
as Christ said: "Father,
Thy
hands
commend
My Spirit."
Stephen in his dying moments cried with a "loud voice," as did our blessed Lord Himself (Matthew 27:50). These loud voices, are they not meant to tell the
story that these deaths were not tragedies, but triumphs? do not want this man to reign over They who said,
'
We
us,"
now
had sent a messenger
after
Him,
as
our Lord
had prophesied in Luke 19:14, confirming able refusal of God's Son.
their unalter-
In his address to the jury (the nation is the jury in this case), which pronounces the verdict of guilty on itself
Stephen, First Christian Martyr (Acts 6)
67
by slaying the prosecutor and stopping their ears to the sound of the accusing voice (verse 57), Stephen marshals the salient facts of Israel's history to
prove that
they ever rejected God's grace while failing to obey His law. Instead of judging themselves, they judged their deliverers and saviors, climaxing it with the murder
of the Greatest Deliverer of
ham
him
to prove that
entirely
all. Stephen quotes AbraGod's blessing was bestowed upon
circumcision
on the principle of faith. The very rite of was meant to illustrate the doing away
with the flesh; Abraham got the blessing in Isaac when he himself was past age when the flesh was dead.
Stephen
that
is
cites
into
ior.
good by Egypt because of envy; yet he became
samples of their persistent hatred of all reminding them of their sale of Joseph
their sav-
goes very slowly over the story of Moses than twenty verses in our Bible for that more taking purpose to drive home to them the truth that he in
He
whom
Lord
they boasted was their chief accuser, as die
John 5:45. They utterly failed to recognize the self-sacrifing love that led Moses for their sates to renounce the honors and emoluments of Egypt's throne,
said in
aside
a greater than Moses in matchless love laid His royal robes to become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Joseph they sold in envy; Moses they abused and refused. They put a full period to their sad wickedness and hatred by becoming the be* trayers and the murderers of that "J115* One."
even
as later
Summing up his seething address, Stephen charges them with high treason against God the Father, the Son,
68
and the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 10:29 telk us there is no remedy left for those who "insult" the Spirit of grace. Israel of God, but Stephen rebukes them not as the
as uncircumcised in heart
God
and ears. Their final "no" to of Stephen has forfeited their martyrdom title to be called any more God's chosen people; they uncircumare, as it were, only Gentiles in His sight
in the
cised.
A
VERSE
Handful of Gems in Acts 7
2. The God of glory appeared unto Abraham. In Genesis 12:1 we read only that God spoke to Abraham; here we learn the additional fact that Abraham also saw the Lord. Vision and voice operating together converted Abraham from an idolator into a worshiper
of the true God, henceforth to walk by faith. Saul of Tarsus was won in like manner. Verse 22. Moses was mighty in words and deeds. would not know this from the record of the Old Testalearn here that Moses did not speak the truth ment. when he said to God: "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue" (Exodus 4: 10). Stephen informs us that Moses was a mighty, powerful speaker. The explanation is that Moses did not think so; he felt his own utter inability. Perhaps he had too much of an inferiority complex, for
We
We
appointed Aaron to do the speaking. He was altogether too good a speaker, too ready with his tongue: witness Exodus 32:21-24. In explaining the worship of the golden calf Aaron said, "I cast the gold into the fire, and out came this calf." He talks as if the calf just walked out of the crucible, but Scripture tells us that he fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a
God
(59
70

I
molten calf (Exodus 32:4).
have found in
my
life
that ready talkers often talk too
much, even if not excuses should Moses' downright lies, or harmful things. teach us on the one hand not to be proud; nor on the other hand to excuse ourselves in a false modesty.
Verse 55. Stephen saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God. In other passages we always see Him sitting down at the right hand of God. The expression does
not mean, of course, that Jesus is always sitting in Heaven. When we say that Queen Elizabeth is on the throne of England, we do not mean that she is always don't believe she ever is), but we sitting on a throne (I
mean
is the reigning monarch. The Bible means that Stephen same the thing. When we read here exactly the I believe saw Jesus standing, suggestion is that the
that she
blessed Saviour
first
was standing
as it
were
to
welcome the
Christian martyr home to the courts of light above. Verse 60. precious to read that Stephen "fell
How
his body, but he fell asleep. asleep." Stones battered matter how fierce the storm may blow here, for the
No
to be broken in upon is sleep, sleep when our blessed Lord returns to take His people Home; then those who sleep in Jesus will rise first to
Christian death
meet the Lord in the air. Verse 58. The witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man whose name was Saul. Rather
ironic, isn't
it,
that those
who
batter the life out of a
servant of Christ could not trust one another and needed

a custodian of their clothes, lest they should rob each other!
A
were about to
Handful of Gems (Acts 7)

kill
71
Who could have known that,

God's
as the enemies of Christ
servant,
He
had another one
right there, eventually to take Stephen's pkce one who would outshine any other servant of God ever to come upon the scene. Surely, His ways are past finding out.
Tarsus was too young at this time, but he got that day the first lesson in an education that was to fit him as God's greatest servant and martyr of ChrisI suppose Saul of
tianity.
Could
Saul, later called Paul, ever forget this scene?
Like Stephen, he too was to see Jesus of Nazareth in the glory, not at the end of his path of service, but at the beginning. The glory shining in Stephen's face was to shine even brighter in the face of Saul of Tarsus. Yes, when one of God's saints is taken away to glory, God has another prepared to take his place. God buries His workmen but carries on His work. Stephen's graduation
was
Paul's initiation.
8
Three Conversions
THE
CONVERSION of the Ethiopian eunuch in chapter 8, of Saul of Tarsus in chapter 9, and of the Roman centurion Cornelius in chapter 10 seem to be examples to show how the grace of God goes out to all men alike.
interesting comparisons
There are
and contrasts in these
were moral, upright men; yet they all were lost and needed to be saved. 2. All three had a special messenger sent to speak to them. How shall they hear without a preacher? It is a great privilege to carry the Word of life to sinful souls. 3. One was a black man; another a Jew; the third a
Gentile.
outstanding conversions: 1. All three men apparently
They represent the whole human race. The Ethiowas a descendant of Ham; Saul of Shem; and Corpian
4.
nelius of Japheth.
the secretary of Can5. The first was a politician dace's treasury; the second a great theologian; the third a militarist. These three classes are usually the very hardest to
6.
The
reach with the gospel. first was aroused
by
reading the
Word;
the
second by seeing and hearing the Lord from glory; the third by an angelic vision.
7*
Philip
7.
and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8)

his
73
One was on
way home;
home.
the second going
from
home; and the third

8.
at
looking for peace and going back home unrewarded in his search; the second was out destroying the third was seeking God's peace. peace; These three spiritual conditions one meets often.
One was
Some, like the eunuch, want to be saved, but don't know how; others, like Saul, are blind to their need in their self-satisfied religious blindness; while many need only to have the message brought to their attention to grasp
it
by
faith immediately, as did Cornelius.
Philip
and the Ethiopian Eunuch

ACTS 8
READ THIS whole chapter

ing and challenging.
8 of Acts;
it is
most encourag-
The
gospel
stage, as the
is now leaving Judea and reaching the next Lord had commanded. In succeeding chap-
the utterters it goes wider still, to the regions beyond most parts of the earth. The opening verse of the chapter tells us there came congreat persecution against the church at Jerusalem, the death and to the of believers, except Stephen, sequent the apostles, were scattered through the regions of Judea
74
too went far

later
and Samaria. History shows that

afield
on the
apostles
with the message of God's grace. No doubt their remaining at Jerusalem at this rime was of God. They braved the greater dangers at headquarters
in Jerusalem, in the very
mouth of the lion, as at the center as an needed were probably they
it
were;
authori-
learn sometative oversight of the work of the Lord. as While yet there were thing of this need in Acts 15.
We
no written New Testament Scriptures, the leadership of these men appointed by the Lord as His apostles was
greatly needed. One of those
Jerusalem and came to Samaria was Philip, mentioned after Stephen in the list of men chosen in Acts 6. Some think this Philip was the one
left
who
mentioned as one of the Lord's apostles in the Gospels, but this cannot be, for verse i states that the apostles did not leave Jerusalem. And further, had Philip been an been no need for Peter and apostle there would have
John to come from Jerusalem
to impart the
Holy
Spirit
to those saved under Philip's preaching; Philip then would have had that authority himself.
Philip preached Christ,
his
with God's blessing richly
at-
tending preaching. miracles and signs done by self professed to believe. His conduct afterwards throws
God
confirmed his ministry by him. Simon the sorcerer him-
doubt on whether he was truly saved or not. Some believe he was a true believer, led astray with a desire for
power
(true Christians often are afflicted that
way
to-
day). His humble reply to Peter's strong rebuke in verse 24 is rather in his favor. In either case, if he was
Philip
75
not saved, it is a lesson to sinners to beware of coming so near and yet being so far; if he was truly saved, he ought to point a warning to every one of us, that in our service we might ever seek only the honor and glory of
our Lord, and not personal interest or power or greed. From this happy field of kbor and great success,
Philip is suddenly called away by the angel of the Lord to travel south on the road that goes from Jerusalem to
the territory of the Philistines of old. There is a distance of some eighty miles between the cities of Samaria and Gaza, though Philip may not have gone all
Gaza
the way; yet for those days quite a long way. The apostles or other believers in Jerusalem were at least thirty miles closer to the eunuch than was Philip; why didn't
the
Lord send one of them on
away
ing?
is
Who
this take journey? a the midst of of such in time harvestgreat Philip knows? God's ways are not like our ways. It
Why
His to command; the servant's to obey.
And
Philip
did just that. He could learn at least this one lesson, and so can we, that before God none of us are unexpendable.
can and will use whom He will. Philip did God's will cheerfully; he even ran when told to join the eu-
God
nuch's chariot.
He found one
der Candace,
Queen of
of earth's great menthe treasurer unthe Ethiopians returning home
had been to Jerusalem, headwhere God had pkced His quarters of the true religion, Name. But he came away as dark spiritually as he had come. One wonders at this, specially because the city was stirred then by the preaching of this new doctrine
rather disconsolate.
He
76
concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Multitudes there had just recently been saved and many signs and wonders had been done in the Name of Jesus. It seems that too little
or none of this had reached this politician. Could it be that he, as so many do today, had ignored those who had no recognized place in the religious hierarchy, and had gone instead to the great names in Judaism? Gone to the Temple, which Jehovah had left, and sought light
from the blind leaders of the blind? That is what many do now. Few will listen to the humble folk who preach Christ; who, instead of making a name for themselves, seek to lift up the Name which is above every name.
Rather they try to "fill their belly with the husks the swine eat," but no man gives to them. Anyway, this man returned as empty as he came. But at least he brought something worth-while away from Jerusalem & copy of part, if not the whole, of God's Word. He was reading the prophet Isaiah and it is no mere chance that he was reading the 53d chapter.
was all ready for him. What better text could any preacher want than Isaiah 53? "Understandest thou what thou readest?" asks Philip.
Philip's text
eunuch, though a great man, seemed to be a humble one, to his eternal benefit. Pride is the crowning sin that keeps folks from Christ. He replies, can I,
The
"How
except some man should guide me?" Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same Scripture and preached unto him Jesus. He told the story of the Saviour's humiliation and His sacrificial death and no doubt of His glorious exaltation. He may have told him that those
Philip
77
who trust the Saviour confess that faith in baptism, for when they came to a certain water the eunuch said: "See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" The implication is that, unless he had had faith in Christ,
there
would have been something

is
to prevent baptism.
Only he that believeth

him.
the
baptized.
So
Philip baptized
the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and convert went on his way rejoicing. When a soul has truly found Christ, the servant passes out of the picture, that Christ may be all in alL
Then new
Philip was found at Azotus and preached all the way north in all the cities till he came to Caesarea. He followed the seacoast north for some seventy-five miles or so, preaching as he went. Note that he did not return to Samaria. He did not become the pastor of the flock at Samaria, but served the Lord as the Holy Spirit directed.
The Conversion
of Saul of Tarsus
THIS
that
is
we
ACTS 9:1-20 of such tremendous importance and so are citing the account in full:
Saul,
stirring,
yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring
"And
them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the
why
and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, he said, Who art persecutest thou Me? And Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the
earth,
pricks.
wilt
"And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what Thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto
him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which jour-
neyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. "And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes
78
The Conversion of
Saul (Acts 9)
79
were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. "And there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he
might receive his sight. "Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on Thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My name's
sake.
"And Ananias went
his
way, and entered into the
house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the
way
as
thou
earnest,
hath sent me, that thou rnightest
receive thy sight, and be filled with die Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had
been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. "And when he had received meat, he was strength-
8o
ened.
Then was
Saul certain days with the disciples
which were
at Damascus. And straightway Christ in the synagogues, that He is the preached of God" Acts 9: 1-20
he
Son
sion.
Paul's conversion is a sample of true Christian converwas saved through a Christ not only crucified,
He
every sinner today that is saved. Every detail in connection with the tremendous transformation in his life is full of typical and spiritual significance. Sovereign grace shines forth here in its bright-
but
glorified;
and so
is
est glory as Paul himself later
on
declared, saying: "I
thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the minisa blasphemer, and a persecutor, and try; who was before
injurious: rantly in unbelief.
but
obtained mercy, because I did it ignoAnd the grace of our Lord was ex-
and love which is in Christ ceeding abundant with faith Jesus" (i Timothy 1:12-14). Saul of Tarsus* experience
the true, normal salvation of any sinner during typifies was the first man to be this reign of God's grace.
He
saved
from Heaven, a call coming from the by risen glorified Lord, and thus he pictures how sinners are
a call
saved because the once-rejected Jesus of Nazareth now lives in Heaven, a Prince and a Saviour to give repent-
ance and remission of
sins.
What
a tale this
no doubt named and shoulders above the people. So did
Saul changed into Paul! He was after Israel's first king, who stood head
is
this
namesake of
The Conversion
his;
of Saul (Acts p)
81
only in Paul's case it was morally and intellectually and religiously that he towered over the men of his day. Paul himself describes his moral height as a fiery zealot
during the days prior to his conversion, in Philippians 3:4-6. Then he was a big man (in his own eyes as well
as in those of his contemporaries), were willed. But when his as
proud, zealous,
self-
God
sees, his
name
eyes opened to see himself was changed to Paul, which means
"little."
tle; as
Now
he
he proclaims himself truly to be but litsays, "Not meet to be called an apostle; less
all saints;
than the least of

seen the
Having His glory and grace, he himself now shrinks into nothingness. It is so with every truly born-again soul; He must increase but we must decrease. Saul, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord went to Damascus to arrest and
the chief of sinners."
Lord Jesus
in
persecute such. It literally reads that he was breathing "in" threatenings and slaughter. He had become as it
were a bloodthirsty man-eating tiger in his blinded, false zeal for God. He was a merciless persecutor; but on his way to arrest others, he was himself arrested by Jesus of Nazareth; human cruelty was met by divine mercy. Praise His name, it was grace that arrested this great sinner; grace that ever afterwards became his thememarvelous, infinite, matchless grace.
spoke light from Heaven shone, could boast of being blameless as touchSaul's soul.
and a voice
into
He
had ing the righteousness in the law, but law-keeping led him wrongly; it had made him a persecutor of the
82
only Saviour of sinners. The law shuts Heaven against man, but Saul heard the words of grace from an opened Heaven.
Oh, the glory of the grace
Shining in the Saviour's face; Telling sinners from above:
God
Ever
after grace
is
light
and
God
is
love.
became
Paul's boast
and glory. Out
of some one hundred twenty-five rimes that the word is found in the New Testament, Paul uses it more than
one hundred. The Lord sent Ananias to Saul, whose name tells the same wonderful tale, for it means "the Lord has shown grace." Read Galatians 1:15; Romans
3:24; 5:15; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Ephesians 2:8-9; I Corinthians 15:10; etc., etc., and you will see how Paul ever
after gloried in the grace of God. The erstwhile persecutor had been
his
plowing
own
way, and
read that the plowing of the wicked is sin (Proverbs 21:4). Saul had been kicking against the pricks, which, I understand, oxen did when rebelling
of the plowman. In doing so they would only hurt themselves as they kicked their heels into the sharp spikes behind them; so Paul had been hurtagainst the
we
command
ing himself
by resisting the working of God's Spirit. The

is
suggestion here
that
God had spoken to his
conscience
before; perhaps at the stoning of Stephen his face shining as the face of an angel. saved, he is the willing "ox" as he serves,
when he saw
yoked to
his
Now that he is
Lord. Ananias finds him in the street called "Straight."
The Conversion
of Sard (Acts
j>)
83
Saul had been plowing crooked furrows, now he is in the straight and narrow way. Henceforth his purpose in life is expressed in his own words: "One thing I do: I press toward the mark. Not I, but Christ." Saul is found in the street called Straight, in the house of one Judas. Again, how typical this is! Once he was breathing in murder; now he is breathing out prayer and he is in the house of Judas, whose name means praise;
"praise." Both prayer and praise are the outstanding marks of a truly converted soul, and both were so prominent in Paul's afterlife. Often we hear Paul praying;
Once
often we hear him burst out in paeans of praise. In the midst of some involved contention or stirring message often we hear him break forth into praise, as in Romans
11:33; 2 Corinthians 9:15;
1:3; etc., etc.
i
Timothy
1:17; Ephesians
turn
Next we find him preaching (verse 20), seeking to men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God.
Finally he
is
being persecuted (verses 23-25).

sin,
From
a persecutor, plowing in
his face before the
we
see
him prostrate on
praying,
first
Lord on the highway; then

and persecuted.
(verses 27-28),
praising, preaching,
He
is
taken
by Barnabas
whose
name is Joseph, to the disciples at Jerusalem and upon his commendation is welcomed by them. Thus he is
added (the meaning of the name "Joseph") to the saints to enjoy the privilege of Christian fellowship, and this was a great consolation (the meaning of the name "Barnabas") both to him and to them-
84

Lord, speaking to the sinner Saul from Heaven, "Why persecutest thou Me?" Thou Me.
The
said to him:
Actually Saul had been persecuting the saints, but Jesus reminds him that He and His saints are one, which is
the blessed truth of the Church, the Body of Christ, of which the Lord is the Head; the truth of which Paul
to unfold so wonderfully. Like his blessed Paul too nourished and* cherished the Church and Lord, in a lesser degree gave himself for it.
later
was
number of thoughts in a practical strain suggest themselves in the conversion of this great servant of
Christ. Everything about
it is
great: the
man who was
saved; the manner of his salvation; the world-shaking results therefrom.
His conversion tells how fearfully wrong man can be, yet think at the same time that he is absolutely right. Religion has a peculiar soporific effect on men. 2. It tells us that the most hopeless case is not hope1.
less. Ananias felt that Saul of Tarsus was beyond the reach of God, but the gospel is the power of God. 3. It points the suddenness of true conversion: one moment a mad persecutor, the next a humble penitent.
man's insignificance. little this 4. big Saul was, after all. The proud man falls helpless to the ground; he trembles in astonishment. From a haughty,
It stresses
How
fiery zealot to a poor, groveling sinner in a moment. Man is pretty small when he is in the presence of God.
5.
It
a word of rebuke; no reminding
teaches the marvelous grace of God. There is not this sinner of his awful
The Conversion
a gentle guilt; just
of Saul (Acts $)
85
question that searches and humbles him. Seeing Jesus of Nazareth, whom he had believed to be an impostor, actually on the throne of God in
Heaven
6.
totally
smashed
all his
former unbelief.
In opposing God, Saul learned, he had really been hindering his own blessing. It is hard to kick against the
pricks.
Says God: "Who will contend with Me?" 7. This might have been Saul's last chance. Had he refused now, it might well have been forever too kte.
vision.
It is
But Paul was not disobedient to the heavenly

true that
we
are not
shown
a vision as Saul
saw
it,
have the sure record of Scripnot needed. ture that He who once hung on the cross is now seated on the throne of God. Before Him every knee must
but
this is
We
bow.
8.
This conversion
stresses the sovereignty
of God.
The Lord on
blinded
one man. Paul alone heard the voice speaking to him; he alone was
this occasion saved just this
by the light. When

to heed
the
Lord speaks to your soul,
do not
9.
fail
His voice!
Paul was to suffer great things for Jesus' sake (verse 16). Unto us, on behalf of Christ, it is given not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake
(Philippians 1:29). I should like to mention that this
new
convert Saul
(afterwards
known
as Paul), like all servants
whom
God service, needed a time of retirement for meditation, prayer, and communion with God. One might think, reading Acts 9: 20, that Paul began to but Gaktians preach immediately after he was saved,
would use in His
86
1:17 shows this

is
not so. He went into Arabia for three from there to Damascus. Those three years, returning the lines between Acts 9: 19 be read between must years and 20, in the light of Galatians 1:17. It is upon Paul's return from Arabia to Damascus that he began to preach there, as Acts 9:20 states. Escaping from that city, upon the threat of being killed (verse 23), he came to Jerusalem. This must be so, for Paul tells us in Galatians i: 18
that he did not get to Jerusalem conversion.
till
three years after his
From Jerusalem, according to Acts 9:30, the brethren sent Paul to Tarsus, and from thence Barnabas brought him to Anrioch, as recorded in Acts 11:25-26.
This was
at least eight to nine years after Paul's sojourn in Arabia, for it was from Antioch that Paul and Barnabas returned to the famous council at Jerusalem, given
in Acts 15. Paul tells us in Galatians 2: i that this was fourteen years after he had been in Jerusalem before. Thus from the rime Paul was saved we find him three
Tarsus (his home years in Arabia, say nine years in two about and town), years laboring in Antioch with the total of fourteen years bewhich makes Barnabas,
tween which
and second visit to Jerusalem; or, the same thing, between his conversion and his coming to Jerusalem as seen in Galatians 2 : i and Acts 1 5,
Paul's first
is
same occasion. I mention this to show that Paul was out of the public eye for about 12 years after he was saved till he entered into what we call today "full time service for the Lord."
which both
refer to the
All these years were spent in preparation for his
life's
The Conversion
work.
of Saul {Acts
;/)
87
If this gifted servant of Christ needed this schooldoes every preacher today. Many are too ready so ing, to start out telling others before they know much yet
ert; Elisha
Moses had forty years of college in the deshumbly waited on Elijah as a common skve, to be fitted to take up where his master left off. Elijah himself went on a lonely forty-day walk to learn some
themselves.
things.
The
greatest Preacher of all spent thirty years in
obscurity.
Let us look
Captured.
at Saul's conversion
once more as follows:

divine love.
He
was apprehended by
He
death; love pursued him to bring him persecuted life eternal. Instead of putting others to death, Paul's
men to
Saviour and ours was put to death for the sins of others. Love puts its hand on Saul of Tarsus and says: "I arrest
a captive you; you are henceforth the Lord's prisoner; of love." Conquered. Many a oiminal in prison has been captured; not so many are conquered. Their wills are still was not disobedient unyielded. But Paul could say: "I to the heavenly vision." Like His Lord he too could say:
"I delight to do
Thy will."
was won. His whole
soul
Captivated. Paul's heart
became engrossed with the loveliness of him. All he once boasted in he now counted but loss for Christ. He found in Jesus not only the superexcellency that challenges the mind, but a love that of
knowledge
satisfied
Him who saved
soul. every craving of his ransomed Controlled. The love of Christ constrained him hence-
88
forth not to live for himself but unto
Him who
died for
him and rose again. That he might bring honor and glory to Christ became his consuming passion.
Have Thine own way Lord; have Thine own way, Hold o'er my being absolute sway;
Fill
with
Thy Spirit till all shall see,
Christ only, always, living in me.
Two
Miracles by Simon Peter ACTS 9:32-43
CHRIST WAS rejected and

martyr, Stephen,
tinues to refuse
is
crucified; the first Christian
stoned to death; and still Israel conGod's mercy and seeks to crush the
to kill Saul and the brethren send
witness to Christ. In verse 29 of this chapter they seek him away to Tarsus.
that "then had the churches rest Judea and Galilee and Samaria." Paul's witness for Christ must have irritated his enemies
Odd to
read in verse
all
throughout
intensely, for his disappearance seems to allay the persecution completely for a while. The churches were edi-
walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comHoly Ghost, were multiplied. Note that in verse 3 1 here we read for the first time in Acts of "churches" outside of Jerusalem. It tells us
fied and,
fort of the
Two
that the saints
Miracles by Peter (Acts 9)
89
were being gathered together entirely outside of Judaism and that assemblies of saints met throughout the whole of the land of Israel. And all this before the truth in connection with the Church was revealed to Paul or revealed by Paul. The Holy Spirit was working to gather out of the world a people for His
Name.
are getting away, in this historical account in the Acts, from the superintendency of Jerusalem or
We
any connection with the Temple (where the saints met at first), and we see assemblies of believers meeting after the New Testament pattern, kter made known in detail
through Paul's ministry.
Now, for the first time, also in Acts, we read of one of the apostles Peter going further afield, as the other apostles did likewise later on, according to tradition. Many that dwelt at Lydda and Sharon turned to the
Lord. Sharon
is
a plain stretching from Joppa north to-
ward Caesarea along the seacoast, the very route Philip had followed, as we saw in our study of chapter 8. Peter follows now in the wake of the evangelist, under the
guidance of the
all
Spirit.
As
a result of the miracle Peter
the people of that region turned to the performs, Lord (verse 35) ; there is a similar happy result in Joppa (verse 42). One wonders whether Philip's preaching of
the gospel had not prepared this
soil for the ready rePeter's under ministry. sponse There is an evident similarity between the miracles of this chapter and those done by the Lord Himself. Peter seems to have learned methods from his Master, whom we also da well to imitate. In the case of Aeneas, Peter
90
tells
him to
arise
and make
his bed, as Jesus told the his
man
who was
borne of four to take up
bed and walk. In
the case of Dorcas, raised from the dead, the details are similar to those at the raising of Jairus* daughter. In
both, the bystanders are put out; both are raised up bybeing taken by the hand. And, as the miracles are some-
what
meaning. Israel may flows on, as is seen reject God's mercy, but God's grace I believe, in these two miracles. God hath not
alike, so is their dispensational
typically, cast away
His people. Aeneas, a paralytic unable to walk, well pictures Israel that so utterly failed to live for God's glory. His name means "praise," but praise here
is
shall
However, by divine grace and power this Israel in the future, as it was with this man here. The miracle happened at Lydda, which means "birth" or "travail." Israel's new birth, her travail see Isaiah 66:8-10 shall yet make her a praise in all the earth (Zephaniah 3:20). Aeneas having been parparalyzed.
be changed with
alyzed eight years suggests that Israel's salvation will truly be the mark of a spiritual resurrection, for the number eight is the number speaking of a new beginning.
as
In the raising of Dorcas a similar story is told. As far being God's people is concerned, at present Israel is dead, yet He has not cast them off permanently. In the
raising of this saint is foreshadowed the
happy future of
God looks at Israel in two ways: in and rebellion against Him He can only say of them, "Lo-ammi not My people," but from the viewpoint of His eternal purposes regarding them, He
the Jewish people.
their perversion
Two
them went after
sees
as
Miracles by Peter (Acts y)
91
still
His own;
He
remembers
how
the wilderness (Jeremiah 2:2-3), an d His of because promises to the fathers, He will yet bless
Him in
they
them. Dorcas lived at Joppa, which means "fair to Him," and this well expresses how He sees His own in grace. Dorcas' name is given both in Hebrew and Greek; both having the same meaning. The basic meaning is
"beauty," with the secondary translation "gazelle," an flrtimfll noted for its beauty. The word is found, I think, wonderful to five tunes in the Old Testament.
How
think that Israel
beautiful in His sight, even as we too are accepted in the Beloved. For Israel there awaits a
is
spiritual as Tabitha
new
birth; an awakening from spiritual death was roused from physical death. Here, as in
the healing of Aeneas, as a result many believed in the Lord. It will be so in Israel's future day; vast numbers of Gentiles will turn to Christ as the result of Israel's rebirth and they shall share Israel's blessing during
Christ's millennial
and eternal
reign.
10
frimmg
the Preacher
ACTS 10:1-23
PETER WITH the other

lem.
apostles at first stayed in Jerusaseen in chapter 8 he came to Samaria to impart the Holy Spirit to those Samaritans who had trusted Christ. In our last chapter, we find him going out
Then
as
still
further,
though
as yet
moving among and
minister-
ing to the Jews only. However, the Lord had chosen him to use the keys to the kingdom of heaven. He did so in relation to Israel in Acts 2, and is now called to do
the same in the case of Cornelius, in relation to the Gentiles. As Peter says in Acts 15:7: "God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe." But Peter was a Jew, with all the strong prejudices of the race, and he was not easily made to open his eyes
to see God's purpose and God's will. First God gave Cornelius, the Roman centurion, a vision of an angel instructing
him to send
is
to
Joppa and
call
for Simon,
whose
gives Peter a vision of the sheet let down from heaven, in order to prepare him and make him ready to go with the messengers sent to fetch
Peter. Next,
surname
God
him. The Lord God did not employ an angel to speak to Cornelius the message of grace; this great privilege is committed to sinners saved by grace. An angel speaks
9*
Priming the Preacher (Acts /o)
93
to Cornelius, the Lord speaks to Peter, and Peter finally wonderful that our Lord preached to Cornelius.
How
the story, even though often we, like Peter, are so slow to obey orders. While the messengers were on their journey from
uses us to
tell
Caesarea, Peter, while praying
on the housetop around noon and becoming very hungry, fell into a trance. He saw in a vision heaven opened and a sheet, knit at the four corners, descending. In it were four different lands of animals, including insects and birds. A voice said:
"Rise Peter, kill and eat." Peter (very illogically, as it is so often with us) said: "Not so, Lord." "Not so" and
"Lord" are
not say
flat
contradictions. If
He
is
Lord, you can-
"No"
to His orders. Peter says: "I have never
eaten any thing common or unclean." And the voice from Heaven came back: "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." This was done three times over. Peter's history carries a number of three's: three times he denied the Lord; three times the Lord challenged Peter's love (John 21); and now three times another les-
son
the repeated. At first Peter did not understand that in he recognized meaning of the vision, but later the sight of God (Acts 10:28) there is no difference beis
tween the Jew and the Gentile, "for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him" (Romans 10: 12). The great sheet let down from an open heaven, with
its
conglomerate contents, seems to
illustrate
the truth
concerning the Church

grace:
i.
God's dealings in
this
day of
It
comes from an open heaven, which
is
typical of
94
the day in which
we Eve.
Christ
went
into
Heaven, and
opened
2.
its
The
portals to us (Hebrews 10: 19). great sheet suggests the vast outreach of the
gospel of God's grace in this day, wherein millions have been won to Christ.
3.
Knit
at the
"four corners" suggests that God's

saves are
as
grace goes out world-wide.

4.
Those
whom God
world
tame
nent
classes in the
from the two promiGod sees them the Jews and

as Israel
the Gentiles.
The Jews
are seen in this net as the beasts

beasts
of the "earth"
had been eduis
cated in God's moral kws.
The term
"earth"
consist-
ently used in Scripture in connection with Israel. The "wild beasts" picture the lawless Gentiles (they are seen as wild beasts in Daniel's visions), while the creeping
things speak of the low passions that mark sinners, and the "fowls of the air" are a familiar figure standing for
the operation of satanic influence. Thus the whole cargo pictures Jew and Gentile alike by nature subject to the
evil lusts
of the flesh and the wiles of the
devil. It is
such
the grace of God blesses. All being together in the same sheet suggests that there is no difference between Jew
and Gentile;
all
alike are sinners
alike are subjects of the grace of God 5. Peter said he had never eaten
(Romans 3:22-23); all (Romans 10: 12).

anything
common
which the unclean Gentiles ate; by the kws of God the Jew had been set apart from them and could not take any common stand with them; it would defile him (the same word
that
or unclean.
He meant by "common"
here given as
common is translated
defiled in
Mark
7:2).
Priming the Preacher {Acts 10)
95
But the Cross has leveled all men, declared the whole world guilty before God; so that all sinners alike are on one common level. And, as they are alike guilty, so the grace of God reaches them alike; and when saved by with the world, no grace, they are no longer common longer defiled in His sight or their own. So God says to him: "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." Now, praise God, Peter was common in a new way; common with the Gentile in a happy holy communion of saints. (The word communion is the noun of the adverb
common
used here.)
Now believers have all things
common, but no longer with the world; only with fellow saints. Now all those, once vile sinners in this great
and Cornelius, are blood of the Christ, as the Lord precious by was teaching Peter by this vision. 6. The sheet came from heaven and was received up again into heaven, telling us that the Church's origin is heavenly, and so is her destiny. Some day all the myriads of believers shall be caught up into Heaven, as this
sheet,
as it were, including Peter
cleansed
sheet
was received up.
Praise
His Name!
Peter
Goes
to Cornelius*
Home
ACTS 10:23-33
As PETER enters Cornelius' home, that centurion a Roman fell down at his feet and worshiped him. Millions of
Romans (Roman
Catholics)
have since then
bowed
cessor
at the feet of
consent.
ing
is
the Pope To venerate and adore religiously a idolatry, and Peter would have none of
him whom they claim is Peter's sucbut now, as then, without Peter's
human
it.
be-
**Stand up," said he, "I myself also
am
a man/'
To
worship anyone but the living
God
is vile
wickedness,
and
flatly refused
here
by
Peter.
gathered together (verse 27), a truly audience God-prepared ready to hear all the apostle had to tell them. Cornelius was really in earnest, for not only
He
finds
many
No wonder the Holy Ghost fell in dipower on such an audience. Peter briefly explains why he has come and Cornelius rehearses the circumstances that caused him to send for Peter. After these
group
like that!
was he himself prepared to hear the Word of God, but he had filled his house with invited guests many of them. What a thrill for any preacher to speak to a
vine
preliminaries, all are ready for the first
sermon preached
to a wholly Gentile audience.
Peter's
Sermon
ACTS 10:34-48 a marvel of simplicity, yet of great comprehensiveness. He gives a brief summation of the Lord's ministry from the announcement of Him by John the Baptist, telling of His works of mercy and power (verses 36-38); then goes on to speak of His crucifixion
PETER'S
SERMON
is
and resurrection a resurrection attested to by His own redeemed ones who saw Him after He rose from the dead (verses 39-41). He reminds them that the Old Testament Jewish prophets had foretold all these things concerning the Saviour; now through this Man whosoever believes in
Peter's message
Him
shall receive remission
of
sins.
on all who heard the Word. What a blessed way to have a meeting interrupted! I have seen this myself a few times in my life, and would love to see more of it. The Jew's were astonished that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost, that they spoke with tongues. It was, as it were, a second little Pentecost, as Jews shared alike in telling us that Gentiles as well the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers and to unite them into one Body the Church. Says Peter: "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?"
97
and persuasive. the the of sermon middle the in Holy Ghost fell Right
plain, powerful,
was
98
Here is the Christian formula: hearing the Word, believing on Christ to the salvation of the soul, the impartation
baptism in water. may note that Peter "commanded them to be baptized" (verse 48). I am not aware that the Scripture lays
of the
We
Holy
Spirit,
the responsibility to be baptized on the believer; it lays it on the one through whom such are brought to Christ.
Peter took the responsibility here; the disciples in Matthew 28: 19 were told to do the baptizing. Preachers have
the responsibility to see to it that those saved through their ministry are baptized. might note once more the difference between this
We
Here, unlike there, there

telling
Gentile Pentecost and the Jewish Pentecost of Acts 2. is no mention of "repent"; no
baptized; no promise of the Holy the Jews were told to repent in view of their guilt in the crucifixion of their Messiah; they were told to be baptized, as an outward proof of their repentance, and consequent to those two actions they were
them to be
2
Ghost. In Acts
promised the Holy
Spirit.
In Acts 10 on the contrary the

is
Holy
Spirit falls
on
these believers without
of His coming being given, and baptism evidence of repentance but of "faith."
any promise not here the
In fact, in full-blown Christianity, repentance is not mentioned in connection with salvation, as it is not here in our subject. John's Gospel, which is the Christian gospel of the four Gospels, never once mentions repentance, but has "believe" many, many times. The Christian mes-
sage
is
one will look
"believe," not "repent." at "self" naturally;
When
when
told to repent
told to believe,
Peter's
Sermon (Acts
10)
99
at Christ. Of course, looking to at another Christ for salvation, one repents at the same time, for it is because one knows self to be sinful and lost that one
one looks
will turn to Christ.
But the emphasis
is
on
"believing";
and
it is
so here in Acts 10.
II
Simon Peter Rehearses

ACTS 11:1-18
PETER GIVES an account of his going to Cornelius* home and what transpired there. There were many Jews in
Jerusalem as prejudiced as Peter himself had been. Peter
knew this, and very wisely had taken six witnesses along with him (verse 12). As he rehearses the mighty grace of
to the Gentiles, his hearers are satisfied; they glohearts that rify God; and it begins to dawn upon their the infinite God cannot limit His love to one tiny little
God
God's heart takes in the whole world, for God He gave His only begotten Son. Thus another step is taken from the narrow confines of Judaism into the world-wide regions where the story of divine love would yet be told so fully. Peter here opens to the Gentiles the door into which another the Apostle Paul would enter to introduce the great and wondrous truths of Christianity, of the Church of God. are given one more look at Peter, after which he disappears from the record of the book of Acts; in a similar manner John the Baptist was removed after the Lord Jesus appeared upon the scene. God fulfils His purposes of infinite grace and uses whom He will and
nation.
so loved the world that
We
where
He
will.
is
The
question
often raised as to whether or not Cor100
Simon Peter Rehearses (Acts

nelius
is
zz)
101
was a believer when he sent for Peter, and opinion widely divergent on that point. Peter's statement in verse 14 of Acts n is pointed out, where he says that
Cornelius was to send for Peter "who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." This sounds like clear proof that Cornelius was not saved at that time. However, in chapter 10 Cornelius . states in verse 6 that the angel told him "Peter shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do"; again in verse 32 of chapter 10 the angel uses the words "Peter . . . when he cometh, shall speak unto thee." In neither of these two verses does Cornelius hear or say anything about being "saved." To me it is apparent that Peter himself gives that interpretation to the angel's words. Being a prejudiced Jew, he could not conceive of anyone being saved except a Jew. Yet he ought to have known even in the record of the Old better, for many Gentiles
. .
Testament were saved, including their famous father Abraham. For myself, I believe that Cornelius was a saved man (I don't see how else one could account for verses 2 and 4 of chapter 10), but one who had never heard the gospel of God's grace, and who was by its preaching introduced into the Church. I believe the emphasis in this whole story is not so much the conversion of these people as the truth that here the Gentiles were added to the Church as were the Jews in Acts 2.
Christians First at Antioch
Now WE see
ACTS 11:19-30 the grace of God going forth still further to the Gentiles. At first the gospel is preached to the
Jews only (verse 19), but then a largely Gentile church is formed at Antioch (see Acts 15:3), which hereafter
assumes, we might say, the status of headquarters for the going forth of the gospel to the regions beyond. The disciples were called Nazarenes at Jerusalem; now in Antioch they are called Christians for the first time.
Antioch means "over
against/'
and
it is
in
its
spiritual
impact that it stands over against Jerusalem; not in opposition, but in contrast. In Jerusalem we have divinely instituted authority and control in the twelve apostles, but here we see the free action of the Holy Spirit in using
the humblest believer in the service of the Lord. It
is
true foreshadowing of the Church as we see its constitution in Scripture. There is no officialism in Antioch; here
are
no big names
just
humble
believers, carrying the
gospel as they go.
All through the Church's history this pattern should have been followed. God's Word in the New Testament knows nothing of a controlling board or central power; knows nothing of human ordination or of appointment
by man
to preach.
special servant,
Though Paul is raised up as God's he never assumes any authority over

1 02
Christians First at
Antioch (Acts //)
103
the consciences or liberty of the saints; the ministry of Christ is the right and the responsibility of every believer.
number believed and turned to the Lord The Church at Jerusalem hears of this and sends out Barnabas. When he came he was glad to see
great
(verse 21).
so mightily; he exhorted the young believers to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart, and
God working
through his ministry many more were saved (verse 24). Then comes a truly lovely note. Barnabas departed to Tarsus to seek Saul. He knew him well; had intro-
duced him to the leaders in Jerusalem after his conversion. Paul had retired to his home town for, as we saw in
chapter 9 of Acts, perhaps eight to nine years. Barnabas, without an envious bone in his body, felt that while he himself might do as a preacher or an exhorter, these young converts needed teaching and Barnabas knew just
the
man
to
do
it
Saul of Tarsus; and so
went after him.
How good to realize one's own limitations, and to desire,

at the risk of playing second fiddle, only the blessing of
God's people for His glory. The two remained at Antioch a whole year, and the known as "Christians." It is not clear disciples became whether the enemy called them that, or whether it was a designation the believers themselves favored. But it is blessed to be named after Him, blessed to acknowledge that His Name is all-sufficient, that there is no need to
take any other. In the closing verses of chapter 1 1 we read for the first time of prophets and elders in the Church. All this in-
104
donates that the
Church was gradually taking shape as God's witness on earth, with the various gifts and qualifications needed for its testimony present. Elsewhere we read that prophets as well as apostles formed the foundation of the Church, and that elders were appointed
by
the
the
Holy
look after the spiritual needs Spirit to
of
saints.
Antioch in Syria was situated about three hundred miles north of Jerusalem, and sixteen miles from the sea, It became the base of operations for Paul's life work. It is believed that Agabus made his prophecy of the coming
famine in A.D. 44, and that it actually did come two years later. Paul came out of retirement into full and
uninterrupted service for his Lord approximately twelve or more years after our Lord's death.
II
Last Mention of Peter

ACTS 12:1-17
THE
this LAST eight portion (verse 17) read: "And he [Peter] departed, and went into another place." That is truly descriptive of Peter's disappearance from
words of
see no more of him in the book the page of history. of Acts; he has departed and gone to another place but
We
where that place is, nobody knows. The Roman Catholic Church says he came to Rome, but there is not the slightest proof for that claim. He disappears and for a good
ministry of Paul the truth concerning the Church takes prominence in this day of grace in the mind of God, though alas, so few even true believers
reason.
The
know
or care
much about
this.
We profit of course by
is
Peter's written ministry, but Paul's ministry concerns the Church as such.
that
which
James
is killed
by
cruel Herod, while
God
trouble to rescue Peter. great deal of
We
goes to a cannot always
understand God's ways; that
is
why
the Lord Jesus told
His
disciples
also in
tread the path of faith; not of sight or reason. God has His own all-wise purposes to fulfil and He doeth all things well (Later on in this
when He left: "Ye Me." The Christian must
believe in
God, believe
book we
will look in detail at lessons
we may learn from
Peter's deliverance.)
105
The Death
of
Herod
ACTS 12:18-23
THE DEATH of Herod pictures, I believe, a foreshadowing

of
are
Israel's future.
Having refused
their
now
under the rule of a
wilful,
own King, they wicked king a
over picture of the future Antichrist. Herod is reigning the whole land, from north to south, as will be true of the coming wilful king in Israel's future. Herod accepts the worship that
is
due to
God
alone and not to
any mere man,

Antichrist
as so clearly will be arrogated by the as we see in 2 Thessalonians 2:4. As it will
be then, so
it is
here
God's judgment
falls
on the sinner
suddenly, while the
Word of God will continue to grow
and multiply.
1 06
The
First Missionary
Journey
WE READ in Acts
ACTS 13:1-3 12:25 that Paul and Barnabas returned

:
from Jerusalem, perhaps
by From Jerusalem they brought with them Mark, who later on deserted them, because of which Paul and Barnabas separated eventually. Yet Mark, this failing servant, was selected by the Holy Spirit to write his account of Christ as God's perfect Servant. And, years later, Paul
after taking the relief there sent the saints in Antioch, as intimated in chapter 1 1 29-30.
himself acknowledges Mark's restoration, and desires his company. Thus grace triumphs over man's most grievous
failures.
How this should encourage any and all of God's
servants!
Acts 13 opens with a new departure. As gradually the great truths of the Church are to be unveiled, Jerusalem fades into the background, as our Lord Himself said would be (John 4:21). Antioch, in Gentile territory, becomes Paul's headquarters, and Judaism fades more
and more into the distance. The Holy Ghost separates Paul and Barnabas for their special missionary enterprise. The laying on of hands of those present (verse 3) of course does not mean they ordained diem to the ministry.
107
io8

ministers of the
Both had been recognized
Word
for
years. certainly the prophets and teachers in Antioch could have no authority whatever to ordain an
And
"apostle."
ing.
Here
They
the true simplicity of Christian teachprayed, then laid their hands on these servants
is
of Christ as an expression of their fellowship with

in their work.
The Holy Ghost
them them and appointed
empowered them.
Elymas the Sorcerer

ACTS 13:4-12
PAUL AND BARNABAS preached to the Jews first (verse 5) It says nothing as to what reception their message met.
.
But in the conversion of the Gentile deputy Sergius Paulus and the opposition by the Jew Bar-jesus we have a startling picture of the truth enunciated by Paul in i
Thessalonians 2:15-16. Speaking of the Jews he says: "Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." Having rejected Christ for themselves is not
enough; they will also try to hinder the Gentiles from turning to God.
PauFs Sermon in Antioch (Acts 73)
109
for the Jewish nation, apostate and Bar-jesus stands others away from Christ. Bar-jesus is a turn to trying and a sorcerer. He has given himself over false
prophet
to Satan, for Paul calls
him a
"child of the devil"
the
very same term the Lord Jesus applied to the Pharisees that hated and rejected Him (John 8:44). This Bar-jesus
spells
in his attitude the continued opposition of the Jew to Christ. It is this conflict with the Jew, to which Paul's
teaching concerning the Church is so directly antagonistic, that is connected with the change of his name from Saul to Paul
little
No
longer the big Jewish
name but the
one
as Christ's
is
humble
servant.
Bar-jesus
spiritual
struck blind, as has happened to Israel in a way. But this blindness, we are told, was only
"for a season" (verse n). So with the nation. "Blindness in part [that is, for a time only] is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Ro-
mans 11:25). Thus
Bar-jesus'
judgment
sets forth Israel's
blindness because of her sins, but also her fuspiritual ture restoration, for it is only for a season.
Paul's Stirring
Sermon
in
Antioch of
Pisidia
THE SAD spiritual PauPs sermon in the synagogue in
ACTS 13:13-41 state of Israel is further declared in

this city.
Read it;
it is
no
a

it is
most impressive charge. As to substance,
very
much
and
like Stephen's address to the council in Jerusalem, somewhat like Peter's on the day of Pentecost. As
did Stephen, so Paul goes over Israel's history, though in much briefer form; nor does he call attention to their treatment of Joseph and Moses, the saviors of those days.
Paul mentions something
don't think
is
found any-
where
else in Scripture
the fact that King Saul reigned
forty years.
who
This additional information tells us that the three kings reigned over the whole twelve tribes Saul, David, and Solomon all reigned forty years. In Saul's reign
we see the truth given in the Old Testament, the reign of man in the flesh the reign of sin. In David's reign we
have the reign of Christ as the rejected King, while a
usurper for a time occupied the throne rightly his thus picturing the present day of grace. Solomon's reign pictures the future day of glory, the millennium, when our blessed Lord will reign in power and glory.
Thus, in the reigns of these three kings we have a pictorial
view of the whole of human

is
forty in Scripture
Saul's reign,
the
number
history. of testing, so
Number we see in
under law, which produced the works of the flesh; under David, man tested in this day of grace; and pictured in Solomon's reign, man tested in the millennial day and proving then, as now, a
tested
man
Each of these periods closed or will close in judgment. Without God's marvelous grace, what a poor
failure.
thing
man is!
Paul, as did Peter at Pentecost, reminds his Jewish
Reaction to PauFs Message (Acts 13)
in
hearers that the Christ they refused God has raised from the dead, and he quotes the same Old Testament passage
for proof (Acts 13:35-37). As Peter did, Paul offers them Christ in the well-known forgiveness of sins through
words
that "through this

sins:
man
is
preached unto you the
and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (verses 38-39). Then, as did
forgiveness of
a warning of the judgment Stephen, Paul drives home that awaits those who despise and wonder and perish.
Compare Acts 7:51-53 with Acts
13:40-41.
Neither here nor in Acts 7 is there any offer made to the nation of a kingdom or anything else. Though the nation as a whole is set aside, this does not mean that
God's mercy is limited. The offer of salvation is made to any individual who will accept the Saviour. Paul himself assures us in Romans n: i that God has not cast away His people. Paul himself is an Israelite, and he has been
saved
the grace of God. He ever longed for his brethren after die flesh (Romans 10:1).
by
The Reaction
to PauFs Message
ACTS 13:42-51
AFTER THE Jews in the synagogue had heard the message,

the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached
ii2
to

that
day apparently received God's Word into their hearts (verse 43) for the preachers urged them to continue in the grace of God.
next Sabbath almost the whole city came toto hear (verse 44). This aroused the rage of the gether unbelieving Jews, and when they contradicted and blas-
them the next Sabbath. Many Jews
The
phemed, Paul and Barnabas
tell
them
that, if
they judged
themselves unworthy of everlasting life, they would turn to the Gentiles (verse 46). That is what the Lord
had told him to do, to begin with, and it is noticeable Paul had been at his conversion that in Acts 9:15
ordered to bear the Lord's
Name
before the Gentiles
and kings and the children of Israel. The Lord put the Gentiles first and Israel last. Paul reversed the Lord's
order, mainly, I believe, because of his passionate love of his own race. But that love of his was largely rewarded
by
hatred, persecution,
and eventually death.
We
read
of persecution in this chapter (verse 50), but when the Gentiles heard the gospel "they were glad and glorified
the
word
of the Lord: and as
many
as
were ordained to
eternal life believed."
a panoramic view of Israel's rejection of Christ (to be repeated again and again in the following chapters); of the gospel's going out ever more
This whole chapter
is
widely to the Gentiles through him who was chosen of the Lord to reach those "afar off." Israel rejected the
Saviour, but the disciples were the Holy Ghost (verse 52).
filled
with joy and with
14
The Gospel Preached
at
Iconium
his
is Paul's desire to see people blessed that again he goes first in Iconium into the synagogue to preach to the Jews. Here they meet with similar hatred and persecution as at Antioch and as subsequently in Lystra, where Paul was left for dead. Writing later to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:11), Paul refers to those very days of Satanic fury: "Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me." Amidst the strong opposition the Lord works mightily and a great multitude of the Jews and also of the Greeks
THOUGH own
ACTS 14:1-7 JUST PERSECUTED, so great
believed.
That
little
word
"so" in verse
is significant;
they "so'* spake that a great multitude believed. It is not only important to preach the Word but the "how" Is important as well. No doubt they spoke with intense earnestness and a deep longing for the salvation of their hearers. I believe that today we might put a little more emphasis on the "how" of our ministry. You have heard the tale of the little boy who was asked which was heavier a pound of feathers or a pound of lead. Without hesitation he replied that of course a pound of lead -was the heavier. His questioner laughed at his ignorance. But a short while after, the
"3
ii4
man who had asked him the question was standing beneath the window of this boy's home. So the lad went
got a feather pillow from a bed and then a lead weight. First he dropped the pillow on the man's head, then the piece of lead, and said: "Now you tell me which is heavier & pound of feathers or a pound of
upstairs,
lead!"
Oh
yes, theoretically they
weigh the same, but
not actually.
into a
force.
The lead is heavier because it is concentrated
more compact form and thus falls with increased Even so our ministry is more effective if it comes
resistance in
with
spiritual passion
The
and divine power and freshness. Iconium was stronger, and propor-
tionately the manifestation of divine power too was done by the hands greater, for signs and wonders were
of the apostles (Barnabas also is here called an apostle). The Lord confirmed by these miracles the truth these
men were preaching,
establishing the disciples on the one hand and increasing the persecution, aroused by envy, on the other. The servants of Christ, because of a
threatened assault with intent to

cities
kill
them, flee to the
of Derbe and Lystra.
The Healing
of an Impotent
ACTS 14:8-11
Man
at Lystra
seen
MIRACLE was performed which the Holy Spirit has fit to record on the page of inspiration: the miracle
Persecution by Israel (Acts 14)
115
of a lame man being healed. This healing is quite similar to the one recorded in chapter 3, there done by Peter and John. Both these men had been unable to walk from
their mother's
when
faith to be healed; both, and walked. Both these miracles, as well as the one by the Lord Himself in John 5, picture Israel, spiritually impotent because of departure from God. Each portrays that some day Israel shall be cured when it turns to the Lord; then the lame man shall leap as the hart. The Jews were violently rejecting Christ then, as seen so prominently in chapters 13 and 14, but God in His mercy interjects an account of this miracle as a beam of divine light and blessing in the sad darkness. Unbelieving Israel shall yet one day have faith; shall one day leap for joy when saved from her impotence by the coming Saviour and Messiah.
womb; both had
healed, leaped
Persecution by Israel
Adoration by the Gentiles
ACTS 14:11-18
ON THE PART of the Gentiles this miracle leads to adoration of the aposdes, while on the part of the leads to increasing violence.
Jews
it
Paul's remonstrance to these heathen at Lystra is very the occasion, seeing they were simple, and suitable to
n6
idolaters.
He
does not speak to them of the spiritual
truths of Christianity, as the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, but reminds them that God is the
Creator and the Beneficent Giver of every blessing and

that therefore worship is due to Him alone. witness of God as Creator ought to make
The very men turn
from the
vanities of life to the
Hving God.
Paul Stoned at Lystra

ACTS 14:19-28
THE JEWS in their envious malice come from as far away

as
Antioch in
Pisidia
and from Iconium and
citizens of Lystra to stone Paul, leaving
dead (verse 19). But to the great
stir up the him lying for amazement of the sor-
rowing
Paul
disciples, in spite
of the cruel battering of stones,
up and goes into the city, as though nothing untoward had happened; and the next day he leaves for Derbe. Even if he was not killed, the fearful barrage of stones would ordinarily have incapacitated any man
rises
from going about formed a miracle.
his business;
God
manifestly per-
Many
commentators see here possibly the incident of
which Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 12, where he was caught up to die third Heaven. Paul twice tells us that he was not sure whether he was in the body or out of the
Paul Stoned at Lystra (Acts 14)
117
body
tra
in other words, whether he was physically alive or dead. If this be the occasion, then the stoning at Lys-
took Paul's life from him and God miraculously restored him back from death. If Paul was not killed here at Lystra, then this incident cannot be connected with that experience of 2 Corinthians 12, for the disciples here stood around Paul's body, and so he could not have
gone to Heaven
in his
there in the street
body, for they saw his body lying outside of Lystra.

learn
The
lesson
we may
from
this
happening
is
that
Paul must have been greatly encouraged in his service, since it proves that nothing can deter a servant of Christ
Lord says so. It times His that in "our are hand." Verse 2 1 truly proves well shows how Paul learned that blessed truth, for, in
until the
from the work of the Lord,
the spite of
murderous
assault
made upon him
at Lystra,
after preaching in Derbe,
he goes right back to Lystra,
Iconium, and Antioch, where his bitterest enemies lived and where he had suffered so much at their hands. Knowing God's overruling power, he could well assure the
disciples
in that region that
tribulation enter into the
"we must through much kingdom of God" (verse 22).
One
is
seen in verse 23.
notable and important feature of Paul's ministry He organized his work for permanent
by forming churches, or assemblies, in every place, and taking care there were elders able to look after the flock of God. This is the double ministry of every servant of Christ to see souls saved and then to establish
fruit
them in the
truths concerning
Church fellowship and
responsibility.
n8
After passing through the provinces of Pisidia and Pamphylia and preaching in two more cities Perga and Attalia they sailed back to Anrioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come and had gathered the church together, they had a special missionary meeting and rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how He had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. Thus ended Paul's first missionary journey, described in the two chapters we have just considered. It is a thrilling story of God's mercy against man's malice; of the forming of assemblies and the fuming of the enemy. Then, as now, the preaching of Christ does not meet with universal success. The devil is a wily foe and stirs in the human heart hatred of God and His truth; while the
Spirit woos the souls of men by the matchless love of Christ. "Blessed are all they that put their trust in
Holy
Him."
If
The Council
at Jerusalem
ACTS 15
IN THIS CHAPTER we hear the last of Jerusalem as the headquarters of the Church. The ministry of the gospel is a world-wide ministry. The Church is truly catholic, though, praise God, not Roman Catholic, which in itself is a contradiction in terms. While catholic means "general," Roman is "local/' so that Roman Catholic forms
the nonsense of local-general. Jerusalem is no longer the center, and there is no warrant whatever for making
Rome the center. True worship is universal neither in Jerusalem nor in Rome nor in any other city; but wherever saints meet together, there the Lord is in the midst. The Church, in Scripture, knows nothing of any controlling board, of a human head, or any other official set-up. The Lord Himself is the Head of the Church; the Holy Spirit the operating and guiding Power. In chapter 15 we have the last "official" act. As in this chapter we have passed the middle of the book of Acts and are heading for the Epistles to follow, so in this council at Jerusalem we have passed the Jewish touch in Church history and find the gospel henceforth going forth in splendid abandon to the whole world. As Paul said: "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles." All spiritual ties with Jewish teaching are now broken.
119
120

believers
was necessary commanded to keep the law of Moses (verse 5). Ah, it was hard for Jews to give up their religion, which had been instituted by God Himself. They were slow to learn that the law had never been given to be kept, but rather to prove that man could not keep it, for by the law is
had
insisted that
it
Some Jewish
that Gentile believers should be circumcised and be
the knowledge of sin. They found it hard to learn that circumcision was meant only to prove that, while the
literal flesh
might be cut
is
human
nature
the flesh spiritually as evil Paul says in Romans incorrigible, as

off,
2:25: "For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep
the law" [which no one ever did]: "but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision." When the grace of God came in to save sinners,
then circumcision lost its meaning as a religious rite, as Paul says in Galatians 5:2: "If ye be circumcised, Christ
justified by the from law; ye grace." Circumcision had been a sign between the Lord and the children of Israel. The Lord said in John 7:22 that "Moses gave unto you circumcision," which is confirmed in Leviticus 12:2, where this rite is definitely given to the children of Israel. It has no relation to Gentiles at all, and, as Paul says, even for Jewish believers to do it would be equivalent to going back under the bondage of the law (Galatians 5:3), and to forfeit "the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." This is Peter's
shall profit effect unto
you
nothing.
Christ
is
become of no
you, whosoever of you are
are fallen
argument too in
this chapter, in full
accord with the
Council at Jerusalem (Acts /y)

Apostle Paul's treatise in Galatians. Peter says:
therefore
121
"Now
why tempt neck of the disciples, which were able to bear" (verse 10). Three prominent speakers are heard at this conclave Peter, Paul, and James. Peter speaks first. Cornelius' conversion, entirely apart from any legal observances, mightily impressed him. As we know, he had to be preto put a yoke upon the neither our fathers nor we
ye God
pared for
it
by
the vision of the great sheet let
down
from heaven. He uses it as an effective argument here, and closes his statement with the tender, gracious words, "We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ
we shall be saved,
shall
"They
and
his
even as they." He does not say, be saved, even as we," but brings himself
of the Gentiles.
it is
own race down to the level
ing.
By You
the way,
interesting to find Peter at this meetremember he fled after his miraculous de-
from prison, yet here he is back at the same old These mighty men were not easily moved. Paul follows and gives an account of the mighty work done among the Gentiles, and how God had attested, by many mighty wonders and miracles, that it was His work. James sums up, and suggests the decision to be deliverance
stand.
livered to the believers among the Gentiles. He quotes from the Prophet Amos to substantiate his verdict, and
here again is one of those remarkable instances in Scripture of the use of what is called the "law of double reference." James cites
from Amos
9: 1 1-12,
a passage which
in reality applies to Israel's future conversion
and to the
122

Israel's
bringing in of the Gentiles in the day of

tribulation
great
Gentiles now during plies it to the conversion of the the day of grace. Amos 9: 12 says that Israel "may possess the remnant of Edom"; James calls it "the residue of men." The word Edom is the same as Adam and so means "man." Since man in general is in view here, James substitutes that for
and consequent conversion. The passage actually looks on to a day then far away, but James ap-
"Edom," which
is
a specific nation.
James" use of the passage is a beautiful instance of the richness and applicability of God's Word.
James* judgment contains three points: Liberty, for grace delivers the believer from legal Jewish bondage; Purity (verse 20), for they were to keep from pollution, fornication, etc.; Charity, for there was to be liberty
of conscience; fellowship was to be on the basis of love, not of light. Paul argues these points at length in i Corinthians 8
and Romans 14. Paul and Barnabas, together with
Silas
and Judas,
the saints,
carry this verdict, causing great joy and the Lord continues to bless His
among
Word among them.
The Second
Missionary Journey
ACTS 15:40 TO 18:22 is specially noted because the gospel is carried westward, and brought by Paul into steadily
THIS SECOND TRIP
Europe for the
first
time.
journey begins on a rather sad note, yet God overrules even man's failure for His own interests and glory. Paul and Barnabas part company. The bone of
The
Paul's estimation
previously proved in confidence. Preachers of unworthy too are human, and do not always agree* As a result of the disagreement the work of the Lord is extended and
is
contention
Mark,
who had
more
souls are reached.
We
know now
that later
(2
on
Mark was fully restored to Paul's confidence
Timothy
4: 1 1) , and the once unfaithful servant is chosen of to write the Gospel about God's perfect Servant
God
the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
The Gospel
in Philippi
ACTS l6
ACCORDING TO the opening verse of this chapter Paul returns to Lystra, where he had been stoned some time before. Here he meets Timothy, who becomes Mark's
successor as Paul's traveling companion.
Paul's closest friend, as his "son." Timothy had
his
:
Timothy be-
came
whom
he lovingly speaks of
been carefully instructed by the mother in Jewish Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy i 5 and 3:15). Since Timothy's father was a Gentile, the lad had not been circumcised and in order not to offend the Jews needlessly, Paul circumcised Him. There was nothing inconsistent in this, for we must remember that while, as seen in Acts 15, the opinion had been given that
circumcision did not apply to the Gentiles, many of the Jewish believers still continued to practise it. People seldom relinquish habits immediately; it takes time. As they went through the cities, churches were established in the truths of assembly life, and new assemblies
were formed through the preaching of the gospel (verse 5). God blessed His Word as Christ was preached. Paul's original purpose was to revisit die churches in all the cities where he had previously labored (see Acts 6 but verses and our chapter show God had of ), 7
124
The Gospel
the
in Philippi (Acts 16)
125
other plans. The Holy Spirit forbade them to preach Word in Ask and hindered them from going into Bithynia. Paul first went throughout the provinces of
Phrygia and Galatia, where later on he spent considerably more time (see Acts 18:23). But the Spirit of God would not let him continue southwestward into Asia, nor northward into Bithynia. Going in a straight west-
ward course and passing by the province of Mysia, Paul came to Troas on the Aegean sea. Note the "they" in verse 8 and the "we" in verse 10. This means that Luke, the author of the book of Acts,
now had
joined the missionary band the first medical missionary on record. Apparently Luke from here on
remained steadfastly with the apostle, even sharing the Paul could write from the years of trial in Rome, for Roman prison, "only Luke is with me." What a comfort such a faithful, gifted, and loving friend must have
been to Paul, while no doubt Luke looked after the of God's great servant. physical well-being As Paul was at Troas, looking across the sea toward
of MaceEurope, there appeared a vision to him, a man donia praying: "Come over into Macedonia, and help us." Seeing that the way elsewhere had been closed by the Spirit, Paul concluded this invitation must indeed be
so the party sailed across, landing at Neapolis and, crossing the mountains, came to Philippi, a Roman was a colony and the chief city of Macedonia. Philippi
of
God;
as it were. There does military base; a miniature Rome, not seem to have been a synagogue there (compare this with Acts 17:1), and so Paul and his friends joined a little
126
group of
women on the Sabbath day. These had been in the habit of meeting together for prayer, and Paul used the opportunity to speak of Christ to them.
The Lord opened the heart of a woman named Lydia, who worshiped God but probably never had heard the
was preglorious gospel, as now for the first time it sented. This woman became Europe's first convert.
the Lord opened her
heart!
How
precious to read that preach and sing to sinners to "open their hearts and let the Saviour in," but the turning of the key that has locked
We
Him out
so
many years
tells
is
done by the Lord Himself.
statement like this
who awakens
afresh of the sovereignty of God sinners to a sense of their need. Lydia
proves her faith immediately
by her
confession of
Him
in baptism, and then by extending hospitality to the servants of God. Lydia, like the Ethiopian eunuch, Cornelius, or Paul himself, was anything but what the world
would call a sinner, but she nevertheless needed a Saviour. Later on in this chapter we have the conversion of a hard, brutal prison warden. Good people and bad people all alike need the saving grace of God. Lydia's household was also saved, as was that of the jailor later. When the Lord works, the devil too gets busy. A
demon-possessed poor woman for many days trailed the servants of God, commending them as true ministers
of the
less to
way
of salvation. But the devil's commendation

the evil
to
is
be desired than
tells
his condemnation, so Paul rebukes

spirit
her and
come out of
her.
Then
Satan shows his true colors; the apostles are hauled before the magistrates and without any investigation being
The Gospel
instituted,
in Philippi (Acts 16)
127
they are beaten and thrown into a dungeon. (Their experience in the prison and the conversion of the we shall look at in a special article later on*) jailor
For some unexplained reason (perhaps the magishad realized how flagrantly they had violated all rules of Roman judicial procedure) the next morning the magistrates sent an order for the release of the prisoners (Acts 16:35-40). But Paul replies: "They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out but let them come themselves and privily? nay verily,
trates
fetch us out/'
filled
Hearing they were Romans, the magistrates were with fear and came and besought them to please leave the city. I believe one has a right to deduce that Paul and Silas forcefully told those officials about their unjust and wicked treatment. Though a believer may suffer for Christ's sake, he is nevertheless a citizen of his country, and has a right to expect proper consideration of his rights as a citizen. Today probably some would sue the city for unlawful imprisonment and abuse and
collect a
It is
good sum in damages.

tell
to be noted that Paul did not
them they were
Romans
the night before, when he could have avoided the brutal treatment they suffered. He was not seeking
to escape suffering for Christ when he protested to these his forbearance was that they magistrates. The result of
proved the presence of God with them in the remarkable incident of the night, and saw His blessing in the salvation of the jailor (which, by the way, has been the cause
iz8

result, too,
of the salvation of thousands since). As a
How sweet to thriving assembly was formed in Philippi. read in verse 40 that Paul and Silas comforted the brethen and departed. One would have thought that they themselves
needed comfort.
I?
Paul at Thessalonica
ACTS 17:1-9
PASSING THROUGH the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia (nothing is said of Paul's labors in either place) the messengers of Christ came to Thessalonica, about one hundred miles southwest of Philippi; and fifty miles further along the same road they later came to Berea. Here there was a synagogue into which Paul entered and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, proving from them that Christ must have suffered, died, and risen again from the dead, and then proving that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ (verse 3). Of the Jews only a few believed, but a vast multitude from the Gentiles
that city.
of prominence in aroused the envy and hatred of the unbelieving Jews, who assaulted the house where Paul was a guest. When they could not find him, they drew Paul's host, Jason, before the rulers of the city, saying: "These men who have turned the world upside
did so, including
many women
As
usual, this
down
are come hither also." This charge was unique, was it not? The truth is, though, that the world is upside down as it is; if men would only obey the gospel, the world would then be turned right side up again.
The
city
brethren sent Paul and Silas by night to the next Berea. Again, they immediately enter the syna-
"9
130

Christ.
1 1:
gogue and preach
What
a splendid thing
is said
of the Bereans in verse
"These were more noble than
those of Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures
daily,
whether those things were so/' They did not take even the apostle's word for it, but compared for themselves what he said with the written Word. Would to God all Christians were willing to do so! No wonder
that
to Berea to
revengeful Jews come down up opposition. Paul is sent away to and Timothy remain at Berea. One while Silas Athens, seems to see here the tender consideration these friends
stir
many believed. From fifty miles away
had for God's dear
servant.
They do not want him
ex-
posed to any possible chance of harm or death. They consider themselves unimportant and are content to re-
main and face whatever danger might lurk in the trouble stirred up by these Thessalonian Jews. Paul in the meantime sails three hundred miles southward to Athens, and there waits for Timothy and Silas to rejoin him.
Paul at Athens
ACTS 17:16-34
ATHENS WAS
ture,
and religion.
the acknowledged center of intellect, culIt was the seat of the prevailing schools
Paul at Athens {Acts 77)

of philosophy, but
it
131
to idolatry" for and (verse 16). Naturally so, philosophy religion revolve around "self," and to make self the center is the
was "wholly given
essence of idolatry. It was said there were more gods men in Athens. And it is no different in our day. Almost the whole human race is bowing down before
than
idols which
human minds have invented and human hands have made. Some worship crude idols of wood and stone or bow down before pictures and images; others are not
so crude, but worship the gods of gold and silver, of culture and refinement, of arts and sciences, etc., etc. everything but the worship of the true God.
schools of philosophy of the Epicureans and of the Stoics. They may not be called by these names now, but the same philosophies
At Athens there were two main
thrive today.
The Epicureans were materialists and atheists mostly. They taught that the chief aim of existence is pleasure;
that pleasure is the only good and pain the only evil To them there was no God and therefore no future life or
retribution: "Let us eat
and drink for tomorrow we
die."
Needless to say there are untold millions of Epicureans today who never even heard of that ancient society.
Men are still lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

Such
live in a fool's paradise, making themselves believe that since they do not believe there is a God or a hereafter, therefore there is none. And millions more, who
nominally believe in a God, live daily as

exist.
if
God
did not
The
Stoics taught that
God was
everything and in
132

is
everything, which imitation of it is
called Pantheism.
modern-day
known
as Christian Science. Stoics
were
and considered apathy the highest moral attainment, God with them was the "soul" of the universe, so that the distinction between the human and the divine ceased to exist. Man became his own god. This is the basic teaching of all spiritistic cults, with infinite
fatalists
variations of course, as in Christian Science, Unity,

Spiritualism, etc.
To such philosophers
ple, so matter of fact,
was
Christian truth, which is so simabsurd. They considered Paul
a babbler, talking baby talk. Speaking to these men of God, in His relation to the world and to men, Paul declares
Him
to be the Creator
and the world's moral
very heart of maand terialism, pantheism, atheism, every other "ism." a of sin as them Paul spoke to personal offense against a personal God and Judge, who therefore commands all men everywhere to repent. He shows the folly of idolatry when we ourselves are the offspring of God and therefore greater in worth than all other created beings or things. He warns them of the judgment to come at the hands of that Man "whom God has ordained, and whereof He has given assurance unto all men in that He has
Governor; truths
which
strike at the
raised
Him from
the dead." Paul never failed to call at-
tention to this radical and revolutionary truth of the resurrection of Christ. doubt much more was said
No
but the corded only the main theme.

this occasion,
by Paul on
Spirit of
God
has re-
God
has hid these things from the wise and prudent
Paul at Athens (Acts 77)
133
and has revealed them unto babes, and the result of Paul's message to these intelligentsia confirms this axiom. Only a few believed; most of them mocked. The gospel produces the usual threefold
reject
it;
result:
some
believe;
many
some
procrastinate.
i8
Paul at Corinth
ACTS 18:1-22
WHEN PAUL WENT to Athens he had urged Timothy and

him there as soon as possible (Acts 17:15), but they never did so. Not till Paul had left Athens and had come to Corinth did these two finally meet him
Silas to join
again (18:5). This Corinth comes to occupy quite a place in the Testament canon of Scripture. It was a very wicked, licentious city, but was chosen of God to furnish the setting for the ministry in regard to church organization, fellowship, worship, etc., as well as to supply all needed guidance for all matters pertaining to the gathering of believers and their testimony for the Lord, as of those who gather to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The two Epistles to the Corinthians provide all the teaching necessary for Christian life, conduct, and ministry; they are the divine charter for the Church as a witness for Christ. At Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla, a godly couple who became some of Paul's dearest friends and helpers. For the first time we read of Paul working with his hands. He explains later on, in writing to the Corinthians, that he did so in order to rob them of any opportunity to say that he was in the business of preaching the
New
134
Paul at Corinth (Acts 28)
135
gospel for the sake of financial advantage (see ^ Corinthians 11:7-12). As a result of his faithful ministry at Corinth, in spite
of
much opposition, many of the Corinthkns hearing, believed and were baptized (verse 8), giving us the
scriptural the soul. The
order in the salvation and consecration of
tecting care,
Lord assured Paul in a vision of His proand Paul continued there a year and six
Word of God among them. The opposing Jews bring Paul before Gallio, the Roman deputy, but he refuses to judge in religious matters; when they beat Sosthenes, a ruler of the synagogue, we read that "Gallio cared for none of those things."
months, teaching the
Others have said that

difference
this did
not suggest religious in-
on the part of Gallio, but rather religious tolerance. Gallio was the brother of Seneca, the famed philosopher, and was known as "sweet Gallio/' He was a man of a most attractive character, just and upright; and so he felt that no man should be tried as a criminal because of his religious beliefs.
He
represents the
proper attitude for a politician
the separation of church
and
state.
sad indeed that professing Christians through the centuries have been guilty of seeking the destruction of those who disagree with diem on spiritual matters. God's
It is
Word
is
does not condone in any wise persecution for the sake of matters of the heart and conscience. "Vengeance
Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." After staying yet a long while in Corinth, Paul leaves, taking his new-found friends, Aquila and Priscilla, with
136
him, and comes to the city of Ephesus. He had shorn his head in Cenchrea, having made a vow, but we do not know what the vow was about. He remains in Ephesus
only
briefly,
when he
and
but promises to return, which he did later, stayed for three years. The removal of Aquila
Ephesus, and probably the favorable imreceived pressions by Paul during this stop-off, opened the way for his subsequent long visit on his third misPriscilla to
sionary journey (see Acts 20:31). Thus ends the second missionary journey, as Paul returns to Antioch, whence he set forth (verse 22).
The Third
Missionary Journey
ACTS 18:23 TO 21116
FEATURE of this third pioneer evangelistic tour was Paul's three years of labor in Ephesus. His minis off set two incidents: one istry before, the other by
after Paul's arrival at Ephesus. These two things emphasize the fullness of the of Christ which Paul else-
THE MAIN
gospel
where
calls
"my"
gospel.
In contrast
we
see
how
Apollos preached the elementary truth of repentance, knowing only the baptism of John (18:25); while the
John had been saved by receiving John's of message repentance, and accordingly they had been
disciples of
Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18)
137
baptized with John's baptism. Aquila and Princilla set Apollos straight. He must have been a humble soul, for, though a powerful, eloquent preacher, he allowed two common, poor tentmakers to instruct him in the things of God "more perfectly."
at
As Apollos was disposed to go to Corinth, the saints Ephesus commended him, exhorting the brethen else-
where to receive him (verse 27). This commendation was not for reception into Christian fellowship, which was then freely extended to all true believers and should be done so now, but it was for reception as a minister of the Word. Preachers permitted on Christian platforms should be known as scripturally sound and reliable, or, if unknown, should be commended by responsible brethren. Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 3: i. He was there
certainly not referring to reception at the Lord's Table, but to commendation as a servant of Christ. person-
He
were the ally did not need such, for they themselves fruit of his labors; they were his epistle of commendation.
19
Foul at Ephesus
ACTS 19
THE
INCIDENT in the
first
seven verses of this chapter

obsolete,
shows that the baptism of John was now
and
that the proper baptism is Christian baptism. John baptized unto the remission of sins; Christian baptism is conto the remission of sins. Paul baptized these anew,
sequent
Paul baptized setting aside John's baptism as irrelevant. the Holy of his the on and hands, then, by them; laying Ghost came upon these disciples and they spoke with
tongues.
The whole
pened
at Pentecost,
is somewhat similar to what hapand so these verses have been called
the Ephesian Pentecost.
This same application might be made as to the entire chapter 19 of Acts. As at Pentecost, there is not only the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the speaking with tongues, but also the bold testimony borne to the Jews; the rejection of the gospel by many; the reception of it by the multitudes (see verse 20); lives transformed by the power of the Spirit (verses 17-19); and the accompaniment of miracles (verses 11-12). All these have an analogy to the days of Pentecost. Thus God worked mightily in this Asian capital as He did in the Jewish capital in Acts 2. As the Church is composed of Jew and Gentile united into one Body by the Cross, Acts 2 pre138
Paul at Ephesus (Acts 1$)
139
sents the story of the Jewish work; Acts 19 the Gentile. 19 closes by showing that the very institution
Chapter
of idolatry seems to be tottering under the mighty imof Christ. Indeed, wherever Christ is pact of the gospel received Judaism as well as heathenism receives staggering blows.
Demetrius pretends a and her religion, yet is concern for the goddess Diana honest enough to confess he is thinking of his own instriking to read that this
terests.
How
This
new
doctrine preached
by Paul
strikes at
pocketbook. while Paul, the Christian, labors at great cost to himself (see Philippians 3:7) for the gain of others only. Those the grace of God not only do not seek personal saved
his
He
is
concerned with personal gain
by
surrender their wealth (they made a bonfire gain, but at a cost of about 50,000 pieces of silver), having become of the unsearchable riches of Christ. the
possessors
and self-centered is the natural man; selfis the folsurrendering and seeking the blessing of others lower of Christ. Idolatry has no message, but can shout
Self-seeking
make itself believe true. Unbelief still can is not which that that is scream and shout and rant, but can say nothing construcfor
two hours
at
the top of its voice to
true
tive or informative. It is interesting to see
God's
little
"assembly" pitted against the whole "assembly" (verse won for it 41 ) of the city of Ephesus. God's Church has
stands today, but Diana of the Ephesians has long since vanished. Great may be any philosophy, religion, or idolatry, but "Greater" is He whose Name we adore,
still
and
who
shall yet
hold universal sway.
10
Macedonia, Greece, Troas, and Miletus
ACTS 20:1-16
PAUL KEVISITED Macedonia, then went to Greece, where he stayed for three months (verse 3). The first two
verses of this chapter dispense with the visit to Macedonia, but Paul's second Epistle to the Corinthians throws
clear light
upon his purpose and the trials through which he passed while there. That letter was written in Macedonia on his way to Greece (2 Corinthians i: 16; 2:13).
the Jews laid wait to kill Paul (Acts 20:3), he gave up the thought of returning directly to Aatioch and went in the opposite direction to Macedonia. He again visited Philippi and sailed from there across the Aegean
sea to Troas.
As
The incident of the young man
falling out
full
of the win-
dow
is
recorded in verses 7-12
is
of instruction and
treated later in detail

is
So
also Paul's farewell address to
the elders at Ephesus book.
considered at length later in this
No
more
other paragraph in the New Testament contains direct, practical advice for missionaries and all
Christian workers than Paul's address in this chapter. Looking back (verses 19-21), Paul speaks of his lowliness of mind, his patience under trials, his faithfulness in the ministry of Christ to all classes and in all places
140
Macedonia, Greece, Troas, Miletus (Acts 20)
141
both public and private. Referring to the present, he declares it is his duty to go to Jerusalem, in spite of the afflictions that await him there. As to the future, he is sure that his work in Ephesus is ended and so he exhorts the elders to be faithful as overseers of the flock of God. In verses 33-35 he cites his own example as a guide for them, as he labored wholly for the blessing of others,
seeking nothing for himself. The whole address gives us a holy insight into the heart of the great apostle of wonder they wept and kissed him as the Gentiles. for the last time to see him again face his saw they
No
only in the glory above.
Touts Journey to Jerusalem

ACTS 21:1-16
PAUL AND
co-workers leave Miletus and without inon to Tyre. After a seven-day stay there, terruption go Caesarea. At Tyre too there is a sad to they proceed farewell taken of God's honored servant. At Caesarea once more with tears the saints urge him not to go on to Jerusalem, but all their pleading is in vain. Two features stand out in all this: the deep affection in which Paul is
his
held by his friends and fellow saints and servants, and his determination to face the trials that await him. Both in Tyre and in Caesarea Paul is urged not to go further. Did he do right in ignoring those pleas? Acts 21:14 seems to show the saints felt he had the will of the Lord in the path he took; who are we to judge otherwise? Thus ends Paul's third missionary journey. The fourth to Rome was a forced one, but no doubt used of God for rich blessing to many.
Helpful Hints on Missionary Work Gleaned from Paufs Experiences During His First Three Journeys
142
Helpful Hints on Missionary

I understand
Work
143
some sixteen years had elapsed at the of chapter 13 since Paul had received his comopening his conversion, to carry to the Gentiles the at mission, of God. (Acts 9: 15). Paul was called gospel of the grace
to be a "foreign" missionary to the regions beyond, and Antioch became the center whence his ministry radiated. His experiences illustrate missionary methods and princiare as valid and vital today. The three opening ples that
verses of chapter 13 tell us that missionary enterprise demands that the church at home be spiritual, prayerful, self-denying, taught in the Word, and concerned about
the
work of the Lord at home and abroad. The missionaries themselves were men strong
and very
the
ally
spiritucalled also the to work likely physically,
by
Holy
Spirit.
This
call
was recognized
to be of
of approval of the on the hands saints call the of on that laying by missionaries, thus expressing their fellowship with them.
It is
God by the local church, which set its stamp
never wise for servants of Christ to go forth in
full-
time service, or to any special field, unless in complete harmony with the Christians with whom they are associated. It is hardly necessary to say that
Acts 13:1-3
does not teach
human
ordination to the ministry, for
Saul (later called Paul) had been preaching for years before this and tells us himself that he was an apostle not
of men, neither by man, but the Father (Galatians 1:1).
by
Jesus Christ
and
God
Opposition beset these servants almost immediately (Acts 13:6-12); that, and violent persecution dogged them all along the road, but God worked mightily. The
144
messengers of the cross may expect to meet bitter an* tagonism, but God's Word does not return to Him void.
The
course of Paul at Iconium stresses
two
points in
missionary strategy: (i) Paul sought to reach all classes and races; (2) he usually went to the larger centers of
population and there, by the preaching of the gospel, formed churches from which the Word would radiate
to outlying districts. read that Paul and Barnabas fled from Iconium to
We
Derbe and Lystra (Acts 14:6). The question is: is that what missionaries should do in times of danger? I believe this would depend on circumstances and the felt guidance of the Spirit. The Lord Jesus Himself frequently withdrew and hid Himself, certainly not from fear, but no doubt with a wise purpose in view. Paul returned to these places later on, probably when the agitation had died down and there was a more ready ear for the message.
Lystra Paul preached differently than he did at Antioch in Pisidia, where his message was as recorded
in Acts 13.
Gentiles,
At
who were
There he preached to Jews; in chapter 14 to practically heathen. To the Jews in
chapter 13 he quotes Scripture, for they knew the Scriptures; to the others he speaks of God as the One whose power and love are seen in the works of Nature and
Providence. In view of the goodness of such a living and God he called on his hearers to repent. Even so loving every wise missionary suits his message to his audience; and of course every wise servant in the home field does
likewise.
Work
145
In chapter 15 we see that the problems which brought Paul and Barnabas up to Jerusalem were caused by missionary activities. Missionaries are always creating probprayer; their needs call for cooperation
work demands men and money, thought and among the saints saints of all types and opinions. The main issue was then: "What is the right missionary message?" The missionary's work is not found in the social realm, except
lems. Their
an aid to reach souls with the message of life eternal. should be the clear-cut truth of man's lost, and the glorious news of the forgivecondition, guilty ness of sins through faith in Christ; with this leading to a all this life of holiness and service through faith in Christ, without any qualifying additions. Paul preached this, but others introduced the idea that circumcision and the keeping of the law of Moses were also necessary.
as
The message
The
verdict of this council at Jerusalem
was
that the
break with Judaism was complete and absolute no circumcision or keeping of the law, but spiritual liberty.
But note that baptism was not abrogated. Circumcision
was Jewish; baptism
is
Christian.
The
36-41 ) so do not always agree. In such cases it is better to agree to disagree, as long as grudges are not held and animosity
is
contention between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15: is a sad proof that missionaries too are human and
such instances have happened during the history of missionary enterprise, but as long as the work is carried forward in the spirit of humility,
not engendered.
Many
God
can and will overrule
all
for the furtherance of the

in
case. gospel, as in this
The work went on
two
direc-
146
tions at the
same time,
as Paul goes
with
Silas,
and Barna-
bas and
Mark sail for Cyprus. In Acts 1 6: i o we find that Luke, the beloved physician
this history
and author of
the party.
souls of
of the early church, joins

the bodies as well as
He is the pioneer in that loyal army of medical
missionaries
who have cared for many around the world.
The
account of Lydia suggests, in her entertainment
of the apostle, the invaluable support given by sisters in Christ to the cause of Christ throughout the ages. much most of us owe to them God only knows, and He
How
will
reward them
richly. Paul did
not forget them either

is
(PhiKppians 4:3, etc.). Hospitality to God's servants
one of the bright jewels of Christian grace.

Paul's stay in Thessalonica tells the story of
how
the
gospel was preached (not omitting the precious and challenging truth of the Coming of the Lord for His saints nor the warning of His Coming again to judge the world, as written in i Thessalonians 4 and 5). His
stay in Berea tells how the gospel should be received (with all readiness of mind, searching the Scriptures, whether these things are so). The book of Acts and the
Epistles to the Thessalonians lay great stress
on
Paul's
type of preaching. It
Scriptures,
was
which
still
essentially an exposition of the is the most valuable and most
needed method of preaching today. Even in instructed Christian circles the lack of understanding and knowlof God's Word is often rather alanrdng. There is edge
preaching on texts, or on some words strung together on a string after the fashion of anecklace; but al-
much
Work
147
together too little consecutive exposition of the itself in its context.
Word
experiences through which Paul passed at Corinth are described in his second Epistle to the Corinthians.
The
The
all
mon to
1.
the servants of Christ.

felt his loneliness.
causes of his discouragement there are comLook at some of them:
Paul
He
looked eagerly for the
and Timothy, but in the meantime in that return of great heathen city there was not a friend to whom he could turn for sympathy and companionship. How often have missionaries been weighed down by isolation and separation from friends and loved ones!
Silas
2.
He
suffered because of the lack of funds.
(How
many of the Lord's servants could recite graphic examples in their own experience!) He went to work at
his trade of
tentmaker to secure means of livelihood.
He
was not ashamed to work with his hands and sometimes preachers may have to resort to that; in fact, in many
cases it would be best to earn largely one's own living and serve the Lord in spare time. Many areas in this
country of ours would benefit greatly
if
men would
the
settle in
some
central location
capable young and minister
Word in nearby halls or schools, while earning their own living. At least, the proper path for the servant of
Christ
is
to start at home, as the Lord so frequently commanded; then to go further afield if the Lord leads dearly
that
3.
way*
The antagonism of the enemy was specially strong in Corinth (Acts 18:6), and largely by Paul's own countrymen. Today also so often persecution is strongest
148

Christians,
from nominal
and
this is the hardest to bear.
character of the city where Paul then 4. Corinth. It was a prominent city and noted for
The
was
its
ex-
treme immorality; proverbial for its pride, vileness, and idolatry. It was not an easy place to work. Paul found relief from these oppressing features in
many
ways, which parallel modern Christian
life:
1. He formed new friendships. He became acquainted with a lovely Christian couple Aquila and Priscilla, who thenceforth assumed a large place in PauFs affec-
tion.
was itself a relief 2. The daily routine of tentmaking from anxiety and from the heavy mental strain placed on him by the mighty, complex truths revealed to Paul and which he preached and wrote. Manual kbor furnishes gratifying relaxation from mental stress, as
this writer
3.
happens to know very well. preaching every Sabbath gave him deep joy, as he spoke of the Saviour so precious to him.
The
4. The arrival of Silas and Timothy, with gifts from Macedonia (see Philippians 4: 15) was very cheering and encouraging. Paul appreciated even more than the gifts themselves the spiritual growth and love for him which
these gifts expressed. doubt the supreme joy was a fresh vision of 5. Christ (Acts 18:9-10): "Then spake the Lord to Paul in
No
the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I ana with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city."
How gracious of the Lord to come in' in times of distress

with a special message of encouragement. Paul was as-
Work
149
sured of the presence, the power, and the purpose of the Lord. Here the most prominent church of the
New
his
Testament was formed; from here the apostle wrote

great
letters to the
Thessalonian
saints.
Trial
became the
occasion for triumph. It is always so. Next Paul came to Ephesus, where he stayed at least three years, longer than anywhere else. Possibly because so many years of strenuous and suffering service for
Christ were behind him, and his age would naturally slow him down, he now stayed longer in any given place. As servants of Christ increase in age and it be-
comes more
to the saints
difficult
is
for
them
to travel, their usefulness
often increased as they are able to minister longer in one pkce and thus can instruct the saints in the great truths we hold dear and which so much need
Word.
to be taught. God's people need to be established in the can learn this lesson from Paul's long visits at
We
Corinth and at Ephesus; after the gospel has been preached and souls have been saved, it is of great importance to care for these newborn souls, to establish them in God's truth, and to see them gathered in Christian fellowship. Paul speaks of this twofold ministry in Ephesians3:8-9: "to preach . . . the unsearchable riches
of Christ" [that
is,
to preach the gospel to sinners] ;
and
then "to make
fellowship of the the truths teach to concerning the mystery" [that is, as a earth on its and Church testimony to Christ], pkce Acts briefly introduces Apollos, apparently a humble man. missionary should above all things be humble;
all
men see what is the
willing to teach.
sit
as well as stand; to
be taught as well as
PauFs Arrest
ACTS 21:17-30 THE BEST of the book of Acts is concerned with Paul's experiences as a prisoner of the Lord in the hands of the
Romans. The period between

in
his arrest
and
his release
reckoned at about five years. The circumstances surrounding his arrest are an epitome, as it were, of those five years: he is a prisoner unjustly confined,
is
Rome
by Rome from the murderous hatred of the Jews. These two features run throughout the rest of this book.
protected
One cannot help but wonder whether Paul did wrong in taking part with the four men who had a vow (verse 23), specially as by so doing he was to prove to the Jews
at Jerusalem that he "himself walked orderly and kept the law" (verse 24)* Somehow this seems to militate
against the aposde's strong ministry elsewhere in regard to the believers not being under the law, but under grace. Certain it is that the scheme failed and led to his arrest. But we do know that if it was failure on Paul's
part,
any
Roman
and
is
for His own glory, as He does His people. Rescued out of the hands of the wild mob by tie
God
overruled
it
failure of
captain, Paul begs leave to speak to his nation
granted
great silence descends
in the
Hebrew
permission (verses 31-40). After a on the multitude he speaks to them tongue.

150
^^
PauFs Five Defenses
ACTS 22 TO 26
ONE BLESSED RESULT of Paul's imprisonment was his oprimes over to present Christ to audiences portunity five
of ever-increasing importance. First (in chapter 22) he
a nation, represented by the crowd speaks to Israel as that heard him there; secondly, before the Jewish Sanhedrin, the outstanding religious leaders of the Jewish
people (chapter 23); thirdly, before Felix, the Roman governor (chapter 24); fourthly, before Governor
Festus (chapter 25), and fifthly, before King Agrippa. From the common people on up, ever higher, till he stands before a king. Thus God overrules the malice of
man
for the furtherance of His
own
all-wise purposes.
Paufs Address to the Nation

ACTS 22
PAUL'S MESSAGE here
i.
His past
composed of three chief points: (verses 3-5). He was a Jew, of the straightis
est sect,
highly educated, zealous of the law; a fiery
zealot
and a persecutor of the followers of the hated
152
Jesus.

Hence,
if
now
he
is different,
pernatural influence must have come into his he goes on to describe in detail.
2.
some mighty sulife, which
The
present.
The power
that transformed
him
from a persecutor
to a preacher of this doctrine was a vision of Jesus of Nazareth in the glory (verses 6-16). It is this which accounts for his present convictions.
Two
slight
differences
may
be observed between
9,
Paul's account here
and that in Acts
when
his
conver-
Here Paul says that it was "of Nazareth" who Jesus spoke to him from the glory, which words are omitted in Acts 9. No doubt they were spoken by the Lord and Paul cites them here, for he would have the Jews know that it is the very Nazarene, by them rejected and despised, who is indeed their Mession actually took place.
siah.
So
also in
Acts 9
it states
that those with Paul heard a
voice, while here
says "they heard not the voice of that spake to me" (verse 9). The explanation is that in chapter 9 they heard "a" voice; here heard
it
Him
they
not "the" voice of Him.
They heard
a sound but not the
14). Spiritually interpreted, that is how every sinner is saved. hears the voice of the Son of God in the mes-
words spoken. Even so millions still hear the sound of the gospel, but do not get the message. To Paul alone the sound of the voice conveyed an intelligent message. In our chapter we leara not only that Paul heard the voice of Jesus, but that he saw Him as well (verse
gospel
He
sage (John 5:25) and
by
faith sees Jesus as his Saviour
(Hebrews
2:9).
Address to the Nation (Acts 22)
153
To the fact of his baptism at Ananias' hands Paul adds here that he was told to "arise . . . and wash away thy much capital men have made of sins" (verse 16).
How
this
command, as though sins are washed away by the water of baptism. Since when does man cleanse hi?nself from his sins, and where in Scripture is water shown to have the power to remove the stain of sin? God's Word that it is "the blood of Jesus Christ that plainly says
cleanseth
from
all sin."
If it cleanseth
from
"all" sin,
where
water to wash away? The simany is that in baptism the believer washes away his truth ple sins in the sight of men, while blood does it before God. In baptism one takes the stand that he is buried with Christ and thus is through with sin; that henceforth he
is
sin left for
will not serve sin.
He
washes away
in the sight of
others
the
filth
that once
marked him. Blood meets the
guilt of sin before God; baptism the filth of sin before men. In baptism, in picture, one puts off the old man and on the new, as Galatians 3:27 tells us: "As many of
puts
you
3.
as have
been baptized into Christ have put on

Paul received a
call
Christ."
The future.
from
his
newfound
Saviour and Lord to get out of Jerusalem and to go far hence unto the Gentiles. And once more as at Pentecost
and
as at Stephen's death
the nation persists in
its
some twenty-five rejection of God's mercy. Perhaps years have passed since Peter preached Christ on the day
of Pentecost, but Israel has not revised its attitude totc will not have this Man to wards Christ; it is still
We
reign over us."
Paz/F s Address Before the Jewish Supre?ne Council
ACTS 23
PAUL is rescued the second time by the

soldiers,
centurion and his
and the next day
is
brought before the San-
hedrin. Scripture tells us very little of what was said on this occasion; eternity will tell the results. One loves to
think that some of those

their consciences reached
who
and
listened
may
have had
their hearts turned to the
Messiah
who came
to redeem them.
again Paul is saved out of their hands by the of Rome. It is truly ironical that Paul's own peopower ple sought his destruction, while the enemies of Israel
Once
protected him* What a commentary on Israel's moral depravity! Life and justice were more secure in the
hands of a heathen government than under the degenerate rule of the professing people of God. Paul's opening word before die Sanhedrin
is
of note:
until
"I have lived in

this
all
good conscience before
God
day." Paul was never a hypocrite or a timeserver. Even when he was murdering Christians his conscience was clear. It only shows what a wretched guide one's conscience can be. Someone has said that a conscience is
lite a
A conscience must be enlightened by God's truth before

it
wheelbarrow: you push it where you want

reliable.
it
to go.
can be
The
conscience of the sinner
is evil
Address Before the Supreme Council (Acts 23)
155
(Hebrews
10:2),
and needs to be purged by the blood
of Christ (Hebrews 9: 14). The rest of Acts 23 is concerned with elaborate precautions taken by Lysias, the Roman captain, to assure Paul's safe delivery to the Roman governor Felix. More than forty men had sworn an oath that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul (verse 21). I imagine that is one vow they broke. Captain Lysias* letter to governor Felix is a typical example of smooth politics. He had bound Paul uncondemned and would have scourged him if Paul had not spoken out (22:25). To make sure this flagrant offense against Roman law would not get him into trouble, he cleverly garbles the truth by pretending that he rescued Paul out of the people's hands because he knew that Paul was a Roman which was a downright lie. However, if it should come out that he had bound Paul, it
would be
prisoner's; so Lysias forestalled any possible unpleasantness after this fashion. Apart from that, he seems to have been kind in his treathis
this
word against
poor
ment of Paul and

23:16-22).
in dealing with Paul's
nephew (Acts
X4
Paul Before Felix
ACTS 24
HISTORY TELLS us
personal
official.
life
that Felix
was noted for
his profligate
and
his cruelty in his capacity as a
Roman
Before him Paul
now
answers for himself in re-
ply to the accusations brought against him by the high priest and the elders of the Jews, with a certain orator named Tertullus as the spokesman. His name, meaning
triple-hardened, may well typify Israel's condition, triple-hardened as they were, as we mentioned in the previous chapter. After the usual diplomatic and political wordiness about the nobility of the ignoble Felix (the Jews hated him like poison), Tertullus charges the
apostle with guilt under three indictments: i. Paul was guilty of sedition, for he was a "mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world." This
and probably stressed, for it would make Paul and guilty of death under Roman law. Paul answers this ridiculous charge by saying he had made no speeches, had gathered no crowd; in short, he had been there only a few days and the charge was utterly false
is
put
first
culpable,
(verses 11-13).
in that he was the ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. Verses 14-16
156
2-
He
was charged with heresy
Paul Before Felix (Acts 24)
157
contain his noble reply to this accusation as he says: "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which
they
call heresy, so
all
worship
the
God of my
fathers,
be-
lieving
things which are written in the law and in the have hope toward God, which they themand prophets: selves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And herein do I
exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men."
few thoughts here are worthy of special note. Paul ignores the name of **Nazarene" which is put upon him. The only name he recognizes is the precious
Name
of Jesus Christ. Christianity sets aside
all
other
has
names to acknowledge only the put above every other name.
Name which God
Paul speaks of two resurrections of the just and of the unjust. In the Old Testament only one general resurrection is taught, but the New Testament unveils
the truth that there are
two main resurrections,
separated
by at least one thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6). Under grace there is a separation between the saved and the
lost;
this
well Perhaps and saved were the those for who Lord's, truly by His envy, of from the nation were themselves grace, separating Israel. Grace was calling Christ's true sheep out from
not only hereafter, but right
as
now
was one of the
chief causes for the Jews' hatred
the Jewish sheepfold (see John 10:1-4), bringing into sharp relief the fact that the others were only false,
empty
professors. Satan hates nothing
more than he
hates separation to Christ. Hereafter, believers shall be
158
raised
Acts of the Apostks
from the dead at

i
Christ's
Coming for His own,

till
as seen in
Thessalonians 4: 1 3-18; sinners not

later.
a thou-
sand years
3.
was that of sacrilege profaning this by stating that, instead of Paul nullifies the temple. come to Jerusalem to bring had he profaning the temple, relief to his nation and, while engaged in the most sacred
third charge
rites,
The
was
falsely accused
and
arrested.
here why does Paul question might be raised blessed Lord, before our when false these answer charges so accused? I bewhen Pilate, refused to say anything
lieve that Jesus did
The
not refute false accusations because had come to bear our sin and guilt. As far as man's the cross unjustly. He was part went, our Lord went to numbered with transgressors, but unjustly. Paul, on the contrary, was not a prisoner to suffer judgment for sin that was not his own; hence he bore witness to the truth
He
and to the
falsity
of the
lies uttered.
Felix, consistent
puts off his
with the habit of judges everywhere, judgment till later. He had the fond hope
that perhaps this valuable prisoner might fill his greedy hands with a bribe; but this proved a vain hope. Yet Paul's defense must have impressed him, for after a while
he, with his wife Drualla, sent for him and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. His famous prisoner spoke
to him in no uncertain tones concerning righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, a threefold message
hitting the center of the target, for Felix was known for his unrighteous rule, his utter lack of temperance (self-
control) in his personal
life,
which might well lead him
Paul Before Felix (Acts 24)
159
to fear the judgment to come. Paul fearlessly touched upon all these sore spots and Felix trembled as he lis-
tened to him.
Though Felix would not bow to the truth, yet it had a mesmeric charm for him, for he sent for Paul often and talked with him. But, since he left the apostle a prisoner for two years and still left him so when his successor Festus took office, there is strong reason to doubt
that Felix ever turned in repentance to Christ. Can you imagine a man listening again and again in private con-
to a preacher so earnest and so gifted as the and yet die without Christ? He hoped for Paul, apostle "loose" Paul (verse 26), but he himself reto money versation
mained unloosed from the slavery of sin and passion; he was far more "bound" than his prisoner was. He put off things to a "convenient" season, as do so many still, failing to realize that TWW is the convenient season; today is the day of salvation. He left Paul bound. One wonders what Paul did during those two years. Perhaps study the Word a great deal, and gather thoughts later on in Rome to be put into writing, giving us the great New Testament spiritual Episdes. God's weary servant got some much needed quiet and rest.
Paul Before Festus

ACTS 25
ACCORDING TO profane
history Porcius Festus was a man of much higher character than Felix. But he too, instead of dispensing justice, seeks to please men when he asks Paul whether he would go to Jerusalem, there to be judged of the things wherewith he is charged. Paul appeals unto Caesar. I certainly will not be a judge of whether the aposde did wrong in committing himself to the emperor's judgment. do know that the Lord stood by him after his defense before the Jewish Sane< hedrin and comforted him with the words: Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome" (23: n). What stands out here, as all through the book of Acts, is the continued and unchanging attitude of the nation of
We
God's grace. Although two years have ekpsed since Paul's arrest, the Jews are still laying in wait to kill him (25:3). The same old charges are preferred, as before Felix (verses 7-8), as is evident from Paul's defense in verse 8; this one verse covers Paul's answer given in more detail in his answer before Felix Paul was probably getting weary of the impasse that had kept him a prisoner in Caesarea when he was anxious to get to Rome; the
perhaps
1 60
Israel in rejecting the gospel of
Spirit
Paid Before Festus (Acts 25)

appeals to Caesar. After certain days
161
definitely guided him to make this move. At any rate, he
King Agrippa and Bernice came
to Caesarea to see Festus; and Festus, after some rime, declares Paul's cause to this profligate son of the wicked Herod who slew James, the brother of John, with the
sword, and -who sought to do the same to Peter, as recorded in Acts 12. Festus, in apprising King Agrippa of Paul's case, says that he told Paul's accusers that "It is not the manner of
the
Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have
license to
answer for himself concerning the crime
laid
against him" (verse 16). Festus conveniently forgot that neither was it the custom of the Romans to hold a man him had prisoner when not a single charge laid against
been substantiated, as
suggests later: "This
if
we
man might
read in verse 7. As Agrippa have been set at liberty,

.
politics
he had not appealed unto Caesar*' (26: 32) But such is then and now as welL Agrippa expresses a desire to hear Paul, and thus the
is
opened for Paul's defense before the highest authority he had yet faced; to go higher yet when he
way
eventually faced the emperor in Rome. Paul's address before the king, as recorded in the next chapter, is one of the most majestic utterances in all the Word of God.
^6
Paufs Apology Before Agrippa
ACTS 26
ADDRESS here
is
of immense value as a defense of
the Christian faith; as a statement of its relation to Judaism; and as an exhibition of its character as a message
for the whole world. Paul insists that the resurrection of
Lord Jesus is the very heart of Christianity (see verse 23); and that resurrection is not inconsistent with the truth revealed in the Old Testament, for this hope was a
the
promise made of God unto the fathers (verse 6) ; and thus that God should raise the dead was not at all incredible (verse 8).
One of the differences essential to Christianity was the

be the "first" to rise from the dead (verse 23), but even that, says Paul, was foretold by Moses and the prophets (verses 22-23). Furthermore, he himself had seen this risen, glorified Saviour at God's
fact that Christ should
right
hand in Heaven, and thus he could not be
dis-
obedient to the heavenly vision (verse 19)* Many others had seen the risen Christ upon earth, as he declares in i Corinthians 15. But the thing that inflamed
particularly
the hatred of the Jews was Paul's insistence that Gentiles too could be saved through faith in Christ, and that the Jews also must turn in faith to this Saviour, repenting of their sins* Yet that too the Old Testament Scriptures
162
Apology Before Agrippa (Acts 26)

declared: that
163
Jew and
Gentile alike were to be blessed
through
Paul
Christ.
We may note a few details in this wonderfid chapter:

first
orthodoxy; not contrary to Jewish teaching, but that it utterly supersedes it. The Old Testament ever pointed onward to the Coming of Christ and of salvation through Him, promised of God unto the fathers. Paul says that the "twelve tribes" even then
insists
on
his unquestionable
is
he shows that Christian truth
were serving God night and day. This does away with the theory of the "lost" ten tribes; they evidently were not lost when Paul spoke before Agrippa.
to do
Paul says: "I verily thought with myself, that I ought many things contrary to the name of Jesus of
Nazareth" (verse 9). This reminds us of the rich

of
man
Luke
12
who also
indeed
when
thought "within himself." It is sad one's thoughts do not leave home. God's
thoughts are higher than our thoughts, as the heavens are higher than the earth*
In verse 14
we
read that Jesus spoke to Paul in the

is
Hebrew
not mentioned elsewhere, and probably was said here to remind these Gentile hearers that, after all, the despised Jews were God's people
tongue. This
and that
He spoke their language.

Gentiles, Festus says: "Paul, tfaou art beside
speaks from the fullness of his heart of how God's gospel was committed to him to preach to both
As Paul
Jews and
learning doth make thee mad." But Paul thyself; declares earnestly that he is not mad, but speaks forth the words of truth and soberness. Elsewhere he says
much
64
hat
>f
if

he was beside himself,
it
was when in the presence
God alone, where he could freely let loose the pent-up

men he was
sober, that
passion of his soul; but before

:he
God might grip them, and they not be led mere emotion (see 2 Corinthians 5:13). astray by Paul appeals to King Agrippa as to the truth he is
of
of these things, for declaring, saying that the king knew u they were not done in a corner" (verse 26). Praise God, Christian truth is not something palmed off on a
Word
credulous audience, but
its
basic facts
were seen by many
life before men, and even eyes. Christ lived His perfect that they could not admit to His bitterest enemies had
Him. His death was not a secret one; He was lifted up on a cross at a time when perhaps a million or more Jews were in Jerusalem at the annual Passover feast, and where thousands beheld the awe-inspiring on a criminal's cross. He spectacle of the sinless Saviour was seen after His resurrection by hundreds, who bore
find any sin in
vigorous witness to that tremendous fact. Yes, these things were not done in a corner; there is overwhelm-
ing evidence for Christ's death and resurrection, which the salvation of the sinner rests.
upon
Paul
is
sore that
King Agrippa
believed the prophets,
but that does not mean that Agrippa believed on Christ. "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Almost
persuaded, but
his voice
lost*
Agrippa
may have had
a sneer in
uttered diose words. But Paul glories in being a Christian. This poor shackled prisoner of the Lord declares himself to be more blessed than anyone
there,
when he
and fain would have them
all
to be such as he
is,
Apology Before Agrippa (Acts 26)
165
except the bonds. Agrippa did not know, nor would he have believed, that that day there stood before him one
one who would some day reign over the whole universe, by the side of the Lord he served unto death. Paul might be a prisoner of Rome, but he was set free by the great Redeemer of souls. So are we praise God! May we not be afraid or be slow in glorying in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!
who was much more a king than he was;
PauFs Jowney to
ACTS 27
Rome
with its consequent such detail in a book shipwreck, should be unfolded in like the Bible, where space is at such a premium, if it
IT
this trip,
HARDLY seems logical that
were merely to give us a
historical account.
But
if it is
given to illustrate deeper truths, then all the details assume absorbing interest. Though we cannot by any means interpret them as we would like, these details lead
in this journey from the capital city the a graphic picto Jerusalem capital of Italy, Rome torial record of the descent of the Church of God from
us to see here
Jerusalem (where it had its inception) to Rome, where eventually the Church will find its sad end, as described in the book of Revelation. see in this trip the professing Church fall from its pristine perfection
We
moral and spiritual wreck in Rome, the and abominations of the earth. However obscure still the various stages, as set forth in this chapter, may be to us, the general setting is clear. so when the Begun propitiously, Holy Spirit filled the house and each individual believer at Pentecost, the Church's history ends with shipwreck; thus is Paul (and the truth he was commissioned to give us) a prisoner along the road as well as at the close. The same sad story is seen in the seven churches from
at its birth to its
mother of
harlots
166
Journey to
Rome
(Acts 27)
167
Ephesus to the nauseating climax in Laodicea. After the happy beginning in Ephesus and the days of persecution in Smyrna, Rome appears on the scene with its Judaizing rather than Christianizing influence, coupled with the of legality and its accompanying bitter animosity spirit against the pure gospel of grace. Praise God, there have been revivals of truth during the days of the Reformation, when the simple way of salvation "was once more preached; and later on the revival of the true position of the Church as the Body of Christ and the unity of all believers, with the presidency of the Holy Spirit recognized. But, in spite of all that, the journey continues
toward Rome, though slowed down by God's infinite mercy. That surely is the bird's-eye view of Acts 27, easily discernible. Taking a broad look at this voyage, we see little fair weather, but much contrary wind and violent storms
steadfastly
surely typical of the Church's history. The ship pictures I judge, those aboard professing Christendom while, are meant to typify true believers. Paul and his friends
comprise the smallest number of those aboard and they

are prisoners; for the full truth of God is held only by the few, comparatively speaking, even among true Christians, and in general it does not find foil liberty for
expression.
Paul warns of damaging storms to come
(verses
9-11), as he does in his Epistles so often in a spiritual sense. He speaks of perilous times to come in die last
days; that after his departure grievous wolves would come in, not sparing the flock The contrary winds then
may
well speak of every
wind of
doctrine,
which
toss
68

lie
men to and fro by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness,
whereby they
in wait to deceive (Ephesians
4:14).
throughout the Church's history! Men are believed who are supposed to know, as the recognized leaders of the the truths of Scripture, great religious systems; while
But the centurion "believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken this has found its parallel by Paul" (verse n).
How
spoken by the true ministers of Christ, are ignored and go unheeded. Well might Paul say later: "Sirs, ye should have gained this have hearkened unto me, and not harm and loss" (verse 21).
.
. -
What
great loss in the spiritual
life
and power in the
only the ministry of the Apostle Paul had been heeded, as given in his wonderful Epistles! Think of the truth presented in the Epistle to the Gaktians alone. How much the professing church has lost by failing to believe and practise the liberty of worship and ministry which belongs to every saint and not to a special class. violent storm at last burst upon them, called Euroclydon, but by most authorities said to be properly named "Euroquilo," which means "northeaster." It is easy enough to identify its spiritual meaning, for the
if
Church would have been avoided
"east" in Scripture ever stands in its evil sense for idolatry (sun worship often being rebuked), while the "north" has in it the idea of spiritual darkness (away
from the
light), thus standing spiritually for infidelity.
seen prominently in Rome; infidelity in corIdolatry Protestantism. These buffet die Church, as so manirupt
is
Journey to
for
Rome
(Acts 27)
169
is
festly evident in the Church's history.

its
Rome
noted
idolatrous worship; Protestantism so fearfully af-
flicted
(verse 17), trying by every means hold "outside" to the vessel together, to possible church it from councils, by fedfalling apart. By keep
eral councils, lately
by "modernism." They undergirded the ship
even by the invitation of the Pope
to unite again with the "true" church, men are seeking to hold the whole thing from disintegrating. Every outside means, but not the inside provision of repentance and faith in God and obedience to His Word. In the
midst of all this Paul and his friends are kept in peace with God and know sweet fellowship with Him, as to-
day
is
true of real believers in the midst of a corrupt,
light from and all hope of salvation is gone. Religion holds out no hope for salvation; but there is hope, and it comes from the lips of the Lord's prisoner Paul. God's true Church, of which Paul is the representative here, has a message of cheer and hope for the world (verse 22) all that sail with Paul are given to him by his Lord (verse 24). While here of course it speaks of salvation from physical death, I believe it typifies how to the ministry of God's all those who listen to Paul Word shall be saved eternally. Paul urges those on board to eat, as in their distress and anxiety they had fasted for two solid weeks. He says "ye" have fasted; apparently he himself had not. The true bdiever feeds on God's Word even in times of trouble and terror, perhaps more so than at any other
worldly religious system. Sun nor stars appeared for
many
days
no
Heaven
(verse 20),
70
time.
in the midst of religionist is starving secure are and that Paul assures them they plenty. again not a hair shall fall from their heads. How we love the truth of the eternal security of the believer, the assurance that God's Word ever has for the ear of faith!
But the mere
They
cast the
wheat into the
sea (verse 38).
The
"wheat," of course, in Scripture is always a type of the Word as the "bread of life." I do not think this casting out here should be interpreted in an evil sense. I would
suggest it means that they were casting the bread upon the waters now as we are told in Ecclesdastes 1 1: i to do.
Even though
the Church
is
itself is failing,
true believers the gospel upon the sea of nations.
yet through being broadcast world-wide
All reach the shore; some swim, others cling to various pieces of the wreckage. The one Church has broken
into a thousand fragments, yet
it
all
who
sail
with Paul, as
were, shall safely reach the shore. This is a general view illustrating the spiritual end of the Church. Per-
haps some day all the light up with beauty

fold
It
details
of this striking chapter will

shall
when our Lord Himself
un-
them to
us.
may
are "farfetched, and this "farfetchedness."
be said by some that the above Applications 7' I admit this. But personally I like
The
virtuous
woman
of Prov-
erbs 31 brought her food from afar, and if fetching from afar will mean food to even one of God's dear
my
saints, I shall
be thankful.
the first, the voyage and the shipwreck ending at Melita; the second, Paul's further and final journey to Rome. The first part of this
The journey had two main parts:
Jozimey to
Rome
(Acts 27)
171
trip again has two parts: first, in the ship of Adramyttium to Myra; secondly in the ship of Alexandria to iMelita. Paul was a prisoner throughout; and in reality the full
Christian truth of the
Church
as the
Body of
Christ
and
the Bride of Christ has never been fully understood the Church as a whole.
by
They are bound for Italy, but not by a straight course. They started off along die coast of Asia meaning
"mire," a mixture on which one can find no sure footing, suggesting spiritual confusion and uncertainty.
the professing Church has been marked
How
by confusion twice confounded! Contrary winds made them seek the lee of the island of Cyprus, a word meaning "blossom," specifically of the olive and the vine, identified by the
Greeks with all that was fair and lovely, speaking of the soft things which appeal to the flesh. Thus we have a picture: tired of the contrary winds of persecution and opposition, finding shelter and ease in conformity with
the world, as described in the address to Pergamos in Revelation 2.
Aristarchus
is
on
board, but only as a passenger, and
we hear no more of him for the rest of the journey.

name means
His
"the best leader," but he does not do any so he leading; typifies the Holy Spirit, who is the true Leader of spiritual life, but who is largely denied that
place in the Church. Like Aristarchus He is along only as a passenger and is not in charge. The Church uses the
name of
gives
ship.
the
Holy
Spirit,
but politely ignores

its
Him
Him practically no
authority in
service or
and wor-
At Myra they change
to a ship of Alexandria and
172
thence point the

dria
prow of the ship toward Rome. Alexanmeans "help given to or by man"; this well tells the story that the so-called Church of God now openly
sets aside, as it
the
were, the guidance of the Spirit through looks to and listens to human authority and Word, for truth and the interpretation thereof. The ship is now where God's truth is set definitely headed for Rome, aside and man's thoughts and methods are substituted
for
it.
The
vessel
came from Egypt, which

its
in Scripture
stands for the world and
religion and
its
dominance
over God's people.

inevitable descent to
mercy God slows down this Rome. Then again the "south wind blew softly," and they supposed that this was what they needed; but it was soon succeeded by the violent storm
The wind
is
contrary. In
that became their undoing (verses 13-14). Spiritually be feared than speaking, south winds are even more to
Times of ease and popularity were later followed by the pitiless storms of persecution, when untold numbers of saints were done to death because of their faith in Christ and defiance of Rome's heresies. What a checkered history the Church of God has had! While on the whole it has degenerated into a professing
northeasters.
body with very
little
real spiritual life, yet
during the
centuries millions have been saved
by God's grace and
have reached Heaven's shore, as these reached earth's Amid the storm, the fear, the darkness, and the famine many, like Paul and his company aboard ship, believed God, rested in His love, and thus were able to bring words of cheer and preach a message of hope to the others. To Him be all the praise!
shore.
Paul at Melita
ACTS 28:1-10
WHAT
A GLAD and yet sad contrast these verses reveal between the attitude of Paul's own nation and that of these Gentile heathen. The Jewish priests and the Roman
governors present a sorrowful picture against the bright display of kindness and consideration shown by these "barbarians'* of Melita. Times may have changed since then, but not the heart of man. Till this very day the
by the Jews throughout book of Acts; or the political, intellectual element, as represented by the Romans; either hate or ignore the gospel appeal. Meanwhile so-called heathen, as these
religious element, as represented
the
of Malta, are being blessed; they receive the messengers of the Lord with respect and honor them for their work. The heathen still have an ear today, while this so-called civilized world (with exceptions, of course) closes its heart to God's matchless grace. The barbarous people showed Paul and his company
men
no little kindness. The chief, named Publius, received them courteously and provided room and board. The Lord rewarded them for their kindness by healing Publius'
many others. As a result Paul and the were highly honored in return. What a happy change this most have been to God's aged and weary
father and others
174
Acts of the* Apostles
servant, after having been so abused and shamed by his own nation! The months spent here were a little oasis in
the desert to this dear saint.
How good God is!
On
to
Rome
ACTS 28:11-31 FIRST PAUL was met and welcomed by the believers; next turned over to the Roman authorities; and last, he came in contact with the Jews and presented his case to
them. These three receptions are again quite typical of the whole book of Acts, as well as pictorial of the last
1900 years. Paul, representative of the truth of the its pkce and ministry on earth during this of grace, is welcomed by the true Church; again day rejected by the Jews; and imprisoned by the Gentiles.
Church and
Here are the three classes

the Jew, the Gentile, and
thians 10:32).
as
God sees them in this world: the Church of God (i CorinChurch
The Jew
rejects the Christ; the
welcomes and adores Him; Rome limits Him, keeps Him in prison as it were, and eventually gets rid of Him altogether, as will the false church in die coming day of
apostasy.
presents the claims of Christ to his the Jews, as he did so consistently and conpeople, as seen throughout his ministry recorded in the stantly,
Once more Paul
own
On
to
Rome
(Acts 28)
175
book of Acts; but once more with the same result. Except for a few, his message as a whole is unwanted. Paul the very same passage describing Israel's applies to them
unbelief and hardness of heart (verses 25-27) as did his
Lord Himself
(in
Matthew
13:14-16). Israel's attitude
had not changed one iota from Jesus' day till now. And once more, as throughout Acts, Paul declares that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles and that they
will hear
it
The book
(verse 28). of Acts closes abruptly. All through
we
read of the continuous rejection of the Saviour by the Jewish nation. It closes on the same note, except for the
final sentence,
which
assures us that Paul for
two whole
the double message years continued there, telling forth which is still being preached today: the kingdom of God, and those things which concern the Lord Jesus
Christ; preaching the one,
and teaching the other.
The
Christ" of course "things concerning the Lord Jesus truths of to the refer Christianity and great particularly its full glory in the Church. So Paul preached the king-
dom
of
God
new
leads to
for the gospel of God's grace received birth, and new birth introduces the soul
into the
kingdom of God (see John 3:3,5). Then, once were born again, he taught the converts all the they truths concerning the Lord Jesus. great
Was he chapter tells us nothing of Paul's future. indicates that released for a while? Philippians 1:25-26 he was. Where did he go after his release and how long
The
was it ere he was rearrested?
He
does
tell
How did he die and where? us (2 Timothy 4:6) that he would die a
ij6
martyr's death, but the Scriptures give us no details. There are reasons for this silence, one of which is evident: the book of Acts is not a history of Paul, but of the
Spirit's
work on
its
earth. It is written to tell us

its
of the
birth of the Church, of
early struggles,
its
missionary
outreach,
sition
tianity.
world-wide spread. Acts gives us the tranhistorically from Judaism into full-blown Chris-
the Lord bless this brief study of Acts to our and for the enlightening of our minds, for His hearts, blessed Name's sake!
May
PART TWO
Infallible
Proofs
"THE FORMER
that Jesus
TREATISE have I made, TTheophilus, of all began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen:
"To whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them
forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. 'Tor John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this rime restore again the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" Acts 1:1-8
i8o
In his Gospel Luke records certain of the occasions upon which the Lord appeared to His disciples after His
resurrection; in our text we have the additional information that this postgraduate course of instruction, which
our Lord gave to His own, continued for a space of forty days. Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, which means "fiftieth" that is, fifty days after the Lord's resurrection the Spirit came down from Heaven, in accordance with the promise the Lord had made in the Gospels, and formed the believers into the One
Body
believer to
the Church, as well as indwelt every individual empower them for Christian life and service.
Jesus had laid the foundation for all blessing in His precious death on the cross (a work which He alone
could accomplish), but He had also begun (Acts 1:1) a work which His disciples were to carry on, after He Himself had been "taken up" (verse 2). That work is still unfinished the work of building His Church through the salvation of souls a work in which, praise
His Name, He enlists the service of every believer. It is our great privilege to have a part in the great work of leading souls to Christ and thus of seeing them added to the Church, that they may be built as living stones into
is the Church of the living God. showed Himself alive to His own for Jesus forty days, instructing them and preparing them for His service ere He Himself went home to glory. Our blessed Lord showed He was truly God's Man the champion
a spiritual house, which
The Lord
human race by defeating Satan so dethe cisively during forty days of temptation in the wilderness prior to His public life on earth; He He had
of the needy
proved
Infallible
Proofs (Acts 1:2-8)
181
done so by walking with His
own
forty days after His
triumphant resurrection. What a wonderful postgraduate course those six weeks must have been to His faithful followers!
His saints for such a responsible task, had divine provision to be made; provision of which the verses of our present text speak. Notice that before Jesus was taken up to Heaven He furnished His own with three mighty helps in their warfare against Satan; these are brought to our attention by the threefold use
In order to
fit
of the
word
"after":
"After
He
through the Holy Ghost had given comalive
mandments" verse 2. "After His passion He showed Himself

infallible
3. proofs" "After the Holy Ghost is
is
by many
verse 8.
verse
come upon you"
a threefold provision that will enable any believer to be a faithful and courageous servant of Christ:
precepts; 2, passion; 3, power. The Word of God furnishes the divine guidance and instruction for every
i,
Here
spiritual
need and every circumstance; the love of
God
furnishes the needed passion and devotion; and the Holy Spirit fully supplies the divine power to those who in
themselves are but

the
weak
creatures, but
who
can do
all
things by power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. These three furnish the complete man unto all good
works:
the
Word
stirs the soul; and ments of the body. Here truly is perfect enablement. Our blessed Lord Himself exemplified all this so won-
enlightens the spirit; the passion the Holy Spirit activates the move-
82
was ever His guide and
Word of God all did He charter; by the power we ever speak could how and of the Spirit (Acts 10: 38) led Him all the way adequately of the holy passion that to Olivary? Love was lie motive force with Him love to God and love for man. He showed Himself alive. All through the four Gosbehold how life should be lived. pels we are bidden to
derfully in His
own
life
and death. The
Example
of the
eternal
is
so
much more
potent than precept, and so
our gracious
life
God has seen fit to give us a fourfold record of Christ that we might see as well as hear
feel that Christians should
life. I
study the four
we see the truths Gospels more than they do, for in them which we hear in the Epistles. Example, as we all know, is so much more effective than precept. For the forty days after His resurrection our Lord once more gave
holy living disciples a course in service. During those days the Lord had a
His
true
and
effective
new
glorified
body
suited to
Heaven
by which
He
body, a could
enter through locked doors, and appear or vanish at will (Luke 24:31). Shall we say that He walked in a new
way way
those
in
is
newness of
life?
Even
so our
walk in a
spiritual
to be different as
now we walk among men
as
who
have been raised from the dead and are pos-
sessors of a
new
life.
Notice the remarkable expression in the third verse of our text He showed Himself alive. That word
caught
my
if
attention years ago.
How
else
could
He
show Himself
tautology
except
alive?
That word
alive savors of
we
see here only a reference to Christ
Infallible
Proofs (Acts 2:1-8)
183
Himself. For, if He were dead He could not show Himself; in that case others would have to show Him. Ap-
plying this to Christ alone, the word alive has no place in the sentence; all it would need to say is that He showed
Himself. But I believe there
in the use here of this
verse, as in
is
word
alive.
His entire life, is us to follow His steps. As He showed Himself

physical way,
ally.
precious suggestive truth The Lord Jesus in this set forth as an example for
alive in a
so
we
are to
show
ourselves alive spiritu-
with can show Christians, spiritually speaking, meaning; ourselves dead and alive, either way, since the Scripture
is
Here
where
this
word
alive
becomes
alive
we
tells
us that
alive
we
are both dead
and
alive
(Romans
6:
1)
Once we were dead in sins; now we

and
unto God.
are to be dead to sin

(i Peter 2:24)
We are dead to sins
in the sight of God; and we are to make this judicially true in our daily lives by living a life of depractically
pendence upon divine power and grace. But there is always the danger and possibility of our drifting away from the Lord; when we do, we show forth the old life and nature; thus we would show ourselves dead instead
of
alive. I believe that is
in our text.
why the word alive is included When a believer lives a carnal life he shows
himself dead instead of showing himself alive. Romans 8:6 says to be carnally minded is death. It is sadly possible
for a believer to
show
himself spiritually dead instead

(for a real Chris-
of
alive.
One
of the surest
ways to seem dead
tian of course is
never actually dead
spiritually) is to
go
84
to sleep.
Hence
the
New
Testament has a number of
warnings against believers going to sleep in that way, as in i Thessalonians 5:6; Luke 22:46; Ephesians 5:14, etc.
When
a Christian
is
dead, for at a
little
and sleeping persons dead sinner look sadly alike often it is impossible to tell which is which. And so the call comes from God: "Awake thou that the dead, and Christ shall sleepest, and arise from among This is God's rousing thee 14). 5: light" (Ephesians give call to the sleeping Christian: "Show thyself alive." If a number of people of both dead and sleeping ones were lying down, you could not tell them apart; but the moment you saw one stand up, you would know he anyway was not dead he would be showing himself alive.
he appears to be asleep on the job distance it is impossible to tell dead sleeping Christian and a apart.
An
upstanding Christian
"alive" Christian
is
thus a true testimony for
Christ,
An
is
a testimony for Christ and
will be used of
Him
to the blessing of souls. After Laz-
arus had been raised from the dead by our Lord, it is not recorded that he ever spoke again; Scripture never says that he spoke of his experience during the time his
was absent from his body, yet we read that "because many went away and believed on Jesus" (John 12:11, 17-19). The very fact that he was alive proved the power of Christ; and it is so in your case and mine.
soul
of him
Christians
who
is
live Christ
magnify
Christ.
The
story
told of
two men who walked
into a taxi-
dermist's shop.
While waiting
to be waited on,
one be-
gan to criticize the various displays.
Infallible
Proofs (Acts 2:1-8)
185
"Look
parrot
at this parrot, for instance. You never see a holding his head in that odd way, nor grasp a
perch in this peculiar manner." Just then the parrot spoke up and said, "Oh, is that so?" It happened to be a live parrot; by the very fact that he was alive, he instantly killed all the criticism, and crushed the criticizer. So it will be if we show ourselves alive.
The Lord showed Himself alive, the Scripture by many infallible proofs, and we, even in our
says,
little
capacity, can do the same in our spiritual life. Note some of the ways our Lord showed Himself some of the
unmistakable proofs of spiritual aliveness: 1. He was seen. So should we be seen; in fact, we are seen every day; as people see us, they should see likeness
Lord in all our ways. spoke to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Speaking is one of the strongest proofs of spiritual life. It is amazing what a part speech plays in
to our blessed
2.
He
everyday
constantly fullness of the Spirit (Acts 2:4; 4:8; 4:31; etc., etc.). In these and in many verses throughout the Bible we
living; also in spiritual testimony. Speaking is presented in Scripture as evidence of the
read that
spoke.
speaks.
3.
when Out of
believers
were
filled
with the
Spirit
they
the abundance of the heart the
mouth
Jesus walked and talked with the
two on the way
to Emmaus, and was known of them in the breaking of too can show ourselves alive by walking in bread. and fellowship with believers and by often harmony
We
speaking one to another.

4.
He
ate
and drank with die
disciples after
He rose
86
from the dead (Acts 10:41). So we show ourselves alive by remembering the Lord in the breaking of the bread; in eating and drinking with fellow saints, with Jesus in
our midst.
5.
He
2
1
blessed
them
in their
work and
ministered to
their need, as
(John
).
He stood on the shore of the lake of Galilee So we can encourage and cheer others, and
meet their physical needs when they are cold and hungry. 6. He restored erring Simon Peter, 'when He met him alone that first day after He had risen, as intimated in
Luke
24:34.
What
a privilege
it is
to
show
ourselves
spiritually alive by seeking to restore those fallen by the wayside; especially to do this in
and gentleness, considering
ourselves, lest
have meekness we also be
who
Him
tempted (Galatians 6:1). 7. He showed Himself alive by drying Mary's tears and comforting her, then sending her on a mission to tell others that she had seen the Lord. We, if spiritually alive, may do the same. There are many tears that need drying; many persons who, when comforted, can carry a message of comfort and joy to others, as did Mary. Yes^ in these and no doubt in many other ways, Jesus showed Himself alive after His death and resurrection, setting us an example to follow in His steps. And then He went to glory (when His work here was done), as we too shall be caught up someday to be forever with
where
He
is!
Till then,
may we show
ourselves
"alive"!
30
The Upper Room
"AND WHEN He had spoken these
things, -while they be-* out was taken up; and a cloud received held, of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward went up, behold, two men stood by them heaven as in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee,
He
Him
He
why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven. "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's
journey.
in, they went up into an both where abode Peter, and James, and upper room, and and Andrew, Thomas, Bartholomew, John, Philip, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren" Acts 1:9-14
"And when they were come
the disciples returned to Jerusalem from the of Olives, where the Lord had just left them to return to His Father in Heaven blessing them with outstretched hands as He ascended (Luke 4:51) , they
When
Mount
187
88
into
an upper room. On the night of His behad celebrated the Passover, and the Lord trayal they had instituted the Lord's Supper which would Jesus be enjoyed by His saints throughout the centuries also in an upper room, furnished (Mark 14:15). From this
went up
upper room by the way of Gethsemane, Golgotha, and Olivet the Lord's own loved ones had now assembled once more in an upper room. In this upper room they abode for ten days, waiting for the descent of the Holy Spirit, as the Lord Jesus had commanded them to do, for He had said to them: "Behold, I send the promise
Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high"
of
My
(Luke 24:49).
The "upper room"

when
came
meaning in Christian life.
thus seems to have a significant find it again in Acts 20: 7-8
We
the disciples came together to break bread. These from the Mount of Olives where they were above
the city of Jerusalem on its outside, into the upper room where they were above the city on the inside. That truly is the proper position for the believer in Jesus at any time: in the world, but not of it; in it, but, as they were,
above
it lifts
it.
"Up" and "above"
are pertinent things in a
believer's spiritual experience. Chnstianity is heavenly;
the believer above this world, on a higher moral
and His had

has
spiritual level, in
saints.
communion with God and with
Then, in the midst of that

its
just crucified
little
more
religious city that Messiah; today, in the world that real use for Christ; die believer
occupies
a spiritual eminence
and
its
with doors that shut out the world and shuts in the true saints with God. ways,
The Upper Room {Acts

It is interesting
1:9-14)
189
to note that Luke's Gospel completely these over ten days in the upper room these ten passes the ascension between of Christ and the descent of days the Holy Spirit. In Luke 24 it reads as if the apostles and
went immediately from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, and were continually in the Temple, praising and blessing God (Luke 24:52-53) . Yet Acts 1:13 shows that they did not go to the Temple, but went
other believers
upper room, where they abode the whole ten days that intervened between the Lord's ascension and the day of Pentecost. It is not till after Pentecost that we read they went into the Temple, according to Acts
into the
2:46: "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple. . . ." Careful comparison will show that the last verse of Luke's Gospel records the same events
as
Acts 2:46,
just quoted.
Luke omits the mention of
those intervening ten days of Acts 1:13 altogether. God's Word is perfect and records or omits facts for special
reasons.
I believe the ten-day period of prayer in the upper room, as given in Acts i: 13, is left out by Luke because Luke's Gospel deals with the Lord's ministry toward His saints, while Acts speaks of our ministry for Him. In connection with our ministry, prayer is such a vital necessity; hence the emphasis on the ten days of prayer
book of Acts. So also we read in Luke that Jesus ascended from Bethany which was the pkce where our Lord so often enjoyed sweet fellowship with Mary and Martha. Luke hence mentions Bethany, for his Gospel is the account of Christ as Man walking in fellowin the
ship
with men. In Acts
it is
said that Jesus ascends
from
190
the
Mount
of Olives (both of course refer to the same
spot, for Bethany was situated on the Mount of Olives), because the olive produced the oil which in Scripture is
the
often a type of the fullness of the Spirit of God. Hence Mount of Olives is mentioned in Acts, because these disciples in the upper room were waiting for the Spirit
the Spirit so necessary for successful Christian service; and service is the theme in the book of Acts.
Note
also in
Luke
that as Jesus
went up
He
blessed
them, and as a result they worshiped Him. This, I believe, is the first time in the New Testament we read that the
Lord Jesus was worshiped directly by His disciples. While Christ was on earth He directed worship to the Father, but now that He is ascended and glorified, worship properly is extended to the Son as well. In Acts, as the disciples stand gazing up into Heaven after Jesus* farewell to them, the two men say to them:
ye gazing up into heaven?" This question not raised in Luke, for it is proper for faith to gaze upon an ascended Lord in glory, in order to enjoy full-
"Why
stand
is
est fellowship
is
with Him; and
we remember that
fellow-
ship specially Luke's theme. But service is the keynote of Acts, so here heaven-gazing must be exchanged for a look on the fields; fields which are for the
ready
preaching of the message of God's redeeming love. The fact that Luke omits the ten days entirely, and goes right on from the Lord's ascension to the Spirit's descent and the stirring events of Pentecost, explains the otherwise inexplicable behavior of the disciples as given in Luke 24:52 where it is said that from Bethany they
The Upper Room (Acts

so sad
1:9-14)
191
returned to Jerusalem with "great joy." They had been when Christ had died (Luke 24:17); how then
could they be so
full
of joy
now when they had
just said
good-by to their dearest Friend, never again to see on earth?
Him
The answer to this problem is very simple when again we remind ourselves that they did not return to Jerusalem and go into the Temple till after Pentecost (Acts 2:46). It happened after Pentecost, after the Holy Ghost had come upon them. By that rime, by the Spirit, their eyes had been opened to the truths that prior to the coming of the Spirit they did not seem able to comprehend, as the Lord Himself had told them in John 16: 1213: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of
." come, He will guide you into all truth. . had now come their were Spirit upon them; eyes opened to the real worth and glory of Him with whom
truth,
is
That
they had walked. Now they understood the infinite value of His precious death, glorious resurrection, and
triumphant ascension. Now they understood the wonder of a glorified Christ in Heaven, ever to intercede for them, with the power and enlightenment of the indwelling Spirit on earth.
No
wonder they were
filled
with
we do not see Jesus either, with the joy. of our heads* yet we do see Him by faith at God's eyes right hand; and so we too know something of joy unSo we, though
speakable and full of glory. lovely to see that in Mark's Gospel, after they returned from the Lord's ascension, they preached; for
How
192

is the Gospel of ministry (Mark 16:15). In Luke, His ascension, they praised; for Luke is the Gospel
Mark
after
of fellowship. In Acts, after they returned, they prayed; which is so needed for a life to be lived for Him. They
worked
saints.
in the world; they praised in His presence; they in the assembly, with the fellowship of other prayed
for ten days in the upper room, waiting for the promised Spirit. The eleven apostles were there,
They prayed
sisters who were so true to Christ and ministered to Him while He was on earth. (I wonder if the sisters outnumbered the brethren among these one hundred and twenty, as they so frequently do today?) There was Jesus' mother, mentioned specially, and His "brethren." Since other men were mentioned before,
a number of those
it
seems logical to conclude that these "brethren" were

flesh.
life,
the Lord's brothers after the the Lord's
the other sons of
Mary
less
Apparently, during did not believe
in Christ (John 7:5); one loves to think that
His death,
miraculous resurrection, and no

sion at last
their Saviour
miraculous ascen-
had opened their eyes to recognize Him as and Lord. Altogether there were one hundred and twenty pres-
were the rest? We read in i Corinthians 15 that at least five hundred had been saved during Christ's preaching of the gospel. One would like to believe that the room was not large enough to accommodate all of these, and thar the other three hundred and eighty were unable to get in. But we know, alas, that in our own day, one
ent at this ten-day prayer meeting (Acts 1:15).
Where
The Upper Room {Acts
119-14)
*93
is
hundred and twenty out of a possible five hundred sad but true ratio for our prayer meetings.
We might say that only the men prayed, for the pro"these,"
noun
who
line form.
Even then
continued in prayer, is in the mascuit seems i Timothy 2: 8,12 was
practised.
They weren't much this little group in an upper room, setting themselves apart from the properly recognized religion of that day were they? There -were no "big shots" there; no Herod, no Pilate, no chief priest.
Not many
or perhaps not any mighty or noble; just the ordinary garden variety of humans; humble fishermen, despised publicans. None had been to college; they were not educated or ordained. But they were in high favor with Heaven. They were God's elite. Christ's interests were paramount here. Ask Peter or John what they think of Him! Anything or anyone against the Lord
Jesus Christ would have been highly resented and rejected in that society. They prayed; they felt their need
of prayer.
They
waited upon
God
and ere long the
power
fell.
They were
in that
upper room "with one accord."
Five times that expression "with one accord" is found in connection with the coming of the Spirit and the believer's attitude to Christ. One cannot help but think
hundred and twenty believers could again ten for days with one accord, once more the mighty pray would be seen and heard. of God power
that if one
Brethren, let us pray!
The
Field of Blood
IN those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this
ministry.
"AND
man purchased a field with the reward of and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field
this
cc
Now
iniquity;
is
called in their proper tongue,

field of blood.
Aceldama, that
is
The
to say
it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habbe desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take. '^Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the rime that the Lord Jesus went in and out
"For
itation
beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection. And
us,
among
they
sursaid,
appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas,
who was
named
Justus,
and Matthias.
And
they prayed, and
194
The
Field of Blood (Acts 1:15-26)

hearts of
all
195
Thou, Lord, which knowest the

whether of these two
Thou
hast chosen, that
take part of this ministry and apostleship, Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his
place.
men, shew he may from which
own
forth their lots; and the lot fell upon and he was numbered with the eleven apostles" Matthias; Acts 1:15-26
"And they gave
There
are,
we might
say, four "fields
of blood" men-
tioned in the Scriptures, all of them, I think, with direct reference to the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
each case the
field refers to
the world (see

is
Matthew
stained
13:
38), of which it is a type, for the world the blood of the precious Son of God.
with
There
is
Cain's field of blood (read Genesis 4:8-15).
He
wantonly slew his brother Abel. It is very dear in the Bible that Abel is a picture of Christ (Hebrews 12: 24), whose innocent blood was shed by the hand of htm who stands for man in his pride and self-will and religious self-righteousness. But Cain also stands more directly for the nation of Israel, which^ as happened to Cain, consequent to the murder of their Abel Christ became fugitive and vagabond in the earth. The field became saturated with the blood of Abel, as this world has become with the precious blood of Christ. As the Lord told Cain that "the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground," so the blood of the Lord Jesus, shed at Calvary, and soaking into the earth at the foot of the cross, calls to God for vengeance on those who
196

it under foot. But, praise God, it also calls to for the blessing of all who shelter beneath its
trample
God
cleansing power. There is the field of blood mentioned in Deuteron-
of the elders and the the Israel, lying in field, judges of the nation were to take an heifer on which no yoke had
omy
21:1-9.
When a man was found slain in the land
ever come, shed its blood, and then wash their hands over the heifer and say, "Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, Lord, unto
whom Thou hast redeemed, and lay Thy people not innocent blood unto Thy people of Israel's charge."
Israel,
On such
occasions they might be able to pray thus, but not so could those of Israel who crucified the Son of God. That slain person found in the field speaks of Him
who was ruthlessly murdered by His own people

that heifer
Israel;
upon which no yoke had come typifies Him also. The murdered man speaks of the Christ whom Israel rejected; the heifer upon which no yoke had come speaks of the same Person as God; and by faith we see Him the holy, spotless Son of God, who in
matchless love gave Himself willingly a sacrifice for
sin
theirs
and
ours.
cannot wash her hands in water (nor could he professed to do) and say: "Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it." It was their hands that shed His blood, as Stephen said in Acts
Israel
Pilate, as
ye have now been the betrayers and They could not say. "Our eyes have not seen it," for they were there, standing around His cross in mockery and saying: "If Thou be the Christ, the
7:52:
"Of
whom
murderers."
The
believe."
Field of Blood (Acts 1115-26)
197
chosen of God, come down from the cross and we will They could not say that they were innocent of His death. The field is stained with blood, in the shedding of which they were dreadfully guilty; blood that has
come upon them and on their children, as they so recklessly prayed. There was innocent blood, but it was not
theirs; it -was His.
but only when be removed and forgiveness come.
as long as Israel pleads innocent, she pleads guilty, shall that fearful stain
Not
Pilate, the representative of the Gentiles, also claimed innocence in the crime of the shedding of the blood of Christ. Like Israel, he too washed his hands in innocence, while giving the Innocent One into the vile hands of wicked men, to shame and dishonor and fearful suffering. When Pilate was claiming innocence he was de-
liberately closing his eyes to his inexcusable crime.
so
it
had to be, for both
Israel
But and the Gentiles banded
together against the Lord and against His Christ (Acts

4:27).
There is the
Himself when
field
of blood our blessed Lord purchased

laid
down His life in sacrifice. Matthew 13:38 tells us that the field is the world and verse 44 of that chapter tells us that He laid aside everything for He who was rich, for our sakes become poor to
that field. He bought this world with the price of His precious blood; the world and all that is therein, is His by right of purchase. We have the field of blood once more brought before us in the history of Judas in our present text (Acts i: 19). Three times the purchase of this field is mentioned. First
He
buy
in Zecfaariah n:iz-i3.
While die
direct
buying of the
198
field is
not given there, the quotation from that chapter, found in Matthew 27:9-10, shows the money was used to buy the potter's field and it was henceforth called the "field of blood." Next we learn from Matthew 27:
as
5-8 that the priests used the money, which Judas returned, for the purchase of this field. Then in Acts i: 18
we
find that the purchase of this field is attributed to
Judas. The Lord Himself is seen as the buyer in Zechariah 1 i, for it was He who overruled man's vile wick-
edness for the carrying out of His own wise purposes of grace. In Matthew 27 the purchase is attributed to the priests who did the actual buying. Finally it is charged
to Judas
who contributed the cash. What a price Israel paid for the crucifixion of the Son
it secured for them dispersion throughout the whole world, and the unceasing spilling of their blood throughout the centuries. The Lord shall come someday to "make inquisition for blood" (Psalm 9: 12). Then shall the curse be lifted and the blood, instead of being
of God:
a curse to Israel, shall become, as she turns in repentance to Christ, the ground for her eternal blessing, as it is now for everyone who believes in Jesus.
Notice the following contrasts: 1. Christ and Judas both bought a
field.
Acts 1:18;
Matthew 13:44
Judas bought Acts 1:18
it
with the reward of

it
his
own iniquity.
Our Lord bought

but our
2.
with the wages of sin (not His,

driven to
it
sins).
life
Judas took his
by
his
own
guilt.
Jesus gave His
life
for the sins of others.
The
3.
Field of Blood (Acts 1:15-26)
199
was used to buy a field to bury was driven out of her land, and "strangers" for nineteen centuries strangers Eved and died in it,
Judas' purchase
in. Israel
while Israel died outside of
it.
Christ bought it (the world) not for a cemetery, but someday to make it a national home for Israel; not to
bury dead strangers

saints.
in,
but for the enjoyment of living

Zechariah
4. Its
purchase
is
attributed to the Lord.
11:13
To the priests. Matthew To Judas. Acts 1:18

5.
27:7
27:7-8 shows it was called the field of reference with to the innocent blood of Christ. blood, Acts 1:19 shows it was called the field of blood because of the guilty blood of Judas, Both are true. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. 6. Judas committed suicide, hanging himself.
Matthew
Our Lord was ignominiously hanged on a tree, bearing our curse; but thus, praise God, He gave His life to give us life. 7. Judas' bowels gushed out after he fell to his death. Our blessed Lord potired forth His bowels of infinite compassion as He hung upon the cross. He poured out His soul unto death. Isaiah 53: 12 Zechariah n and Matthew 27 reveal that the money of His betrayal was used to buy the potter's field, Zechariah adding that the money was cast to the potter, apparently so that the potter might use this field in his of God work. And that is precisely what the
Word
teaches as to God's dealings with Israel. In Jeremiah 18
200

learn that Israel
is is
we
spoken of
as clay
and the Lord as

marred, that
is
the Potter. Israel
like a vessel that is
good for nothing and needs to be made over completely new; in other words needs to be born again. This is exactly what the Lord purposes to do with Israel, as He
says in verse 6 of that chapter:
"O
house of
Israel,
can-
not
do with you
as this potter? Behold, as the clay is
in the potter's hand, so are

Israel."
God
soul.
We
house of ye in Mine hand, does the same thing with any individual have become marred through sin, and the great
Potter makes us anew, saves us by His grace, so be to the display of His glory forever.
we may
Jeremiah deals specially with Israel in that way. Judas bought the clay when he bought the field and made the
world, through his fearful crime, a world of blood, specially for Israel. But there is hope. The world is a
where the Redeemer of Israel shall yet form a nation out of earthly clay, to be His earthly redeemed people. That blood, spilled by wicked Judas
potter's field,
very name represents the nation of Judah the Jews), yet so graciously offered in atoning sacrifice by our Lord, shall yet be the basis for a newborn Israel in this world. That which for centuries has been used as a
(his
graveyard for strangers, shall yet become the stage where Christ and His people Israel shall be to
displayed
wondering worlds. God will turn the exceeding wickedness of men into an occasion for filling Heaven and earth with His praises. The Potter shall make use of the
clay to fashion millions of vessels for His glory, that
all
men
may
say:
"What
hath
God
wrought!"
Simon
Peter's Deliverance
"Now
his
ABOUT that time Herod the king stretched forth hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed
James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep
him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for
him.
"And when Herod would have brought him

the same night Peter
forth,
sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and die keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote him on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sanso he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy about thee, and follow me. garment "And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought
dals.
was
And
he saw a
vision.
When
they were past the

2OI
first
and the
202
second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord; and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
I
"And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and
the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark;
from
all
where many were gathered together praying. "And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew
Peter's voice, she
opened not the gate for gladness, but

gate.
ran
in,
and told
unto
it
they
said
how Peter stood before the her, Thou art mad. But she
was even
so.
And
constantly
affirmed that
Then
said they, It is his
angel. 'TBut Peter continued knocking:
and when they had
opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their
peace, declared unto him out of the prison.
them how the Lord had brought And he said, Go shew these things
went into another place."
unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and Acts 12: 1-17
of Peter's deliverance from the prison and from the power of Herod may well have spiritual imdetails
The
plications, for I believe that the
says
much more
Word of God always than appears on the surface. I believe
Simon
that this
203
whole story has its counterpart spiritually in the deliverance of the soul from the power of sin and
Satan into the liberty and blessing of redemption. 1. Peter was in prison; not for any sin of his own, of
course, yet it may picture how all men are prisoners. Our souls were once in the prison house of sin, from
which the Lord in His grace has
set
us
free, for
He
proclaims "liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Isaiah 61:1); "the Lord looseth the prisoners" (Psalm 146:7).
Sometimes too the believer feels, as it were, shut up in prison, as did David in Psalm 142:7, when he prayed to the Lord to bring his soul out of prison that he might praise His Name. In either case, deliverance comes from
God,
2.
as it did to Peter in this

Peter's plight
Roman jaiL
seemed hopeless, from a human point the sinner's condition apart from the of view. So is mighty grace and power of God. Peter was guarded by two soldiers, one on each side. He was bound with two chains to those two men, and there were two more keepers outside of the door. The two on the inside may
well speak of the two that bind the sinner within: a guilty conscience and a condemning memory (Romans
2:15); both of these bearing witness to the helpless, hopeless state of the souL Those two on the outside, I
mighty enemies of the soul without: the world with its attractions and delusions and Satan
believe, typify the
with his
false religious deceptions.
Every sinner
is
thus
held a helpless prisoner by the cords of his sins the lusts of the flesh and the mind within, and by the mighty
204
powers around and above him that bind him with chains
impossible for man to break. Then there was the locked and barred door, which is the worst of all, for it speaks of man's heart tightly closed against the appeal of God's love; a door outside of
which the Saviour stands as He knocks for admittance. Furthermore, it was the last night on earth for Peter, so it seemed. It was to be then or never. Praise God,
man's need furnishes God's opportunity for blessing. The dying thief was saved at the last hour; Peter was saved the last night; and many a sinner has been saved at
the
last
minute.
angel
it
3.
The
came on the
scene; the angel of the
Lord. Could
have been the Lord Jesus Himself?
not, since so often in Scripture
He is designated as "the"
Why
angel of the Lord? In the hour of His death, there was deliver Him. No, He died alone, forsaken, that thus He might be able to deliver millions not
none to
merely
from physical
death, as with Peter here, but
from the
doom. a came and angel light shined in the prison. The of the the glory of God in the face of light knowledge of Jesus Christ shines into the dark hearts of men; die light of the grace of God as it shines forth from God's holy Word. But alas, many never see it, as in the case
eternal death of everlasting
The
of these
soldiers.
They
slept right
through
it,
though
the light shone brightly all about them. The god of this world blinds the minds of them that believe not, lest the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should shine
into them.
Simon
205
The
So the
geon.
light
came
first,
light of God's
Word
revealing Peter's helpless state. first of all must reveal the
sinner's lost condition, as it did Peter's in that
dark dun-
And
then God's
Word
in
its
bright light also
shows forth God's wonderful love and saving power, 4. The angel smote Peter on the side. This verb "smite" is the same as in Acts 12:23, where it represented the stroke of judgment that destroyed wicked king Herod. It is the same word as in Matthew 26:31, where
it
refers to the
judgment our Saviour bore for us
at Cal-
vary. smiting of Peter we should read a hint of the judgment that by right should fall on the sinner, but which fell in wondrous grace on the Saviour who
Thus in the
took the
sinner's place.
The awful judgment

that
of sin and
made Him bear Christ, that judgment for us, should awaken every sinner from the sleep of death, as it awoke Peter here. The angel smote Peter "on the side," where the heart
the wondrous love of
is located.
Again Lord! Wasn't His

of
how
this
reminds us of our blessed
side smitten for us, that the great love
might flow down to us? Peter was smitten oji the side, as it were, to recall to him the smiting of His Lord. So the piercing of our Saviour at Calvary should stir the heart of every sinner and awaken them to open their hearts to God's great love. Yes, the gospel of the grace of God appeals to the heart of man (not to his
God
mind
specially), for
with the heart
man
believeth unto
righteousness.
by the
cial
angel.
That is why Peter was smitten on the side That smiting should speak of the sacrifi-
"death" of Christ for sinners.
206

is
This in turn
5.
followed by:
He
is
Death
him up, saying, "Arise up quickly." followed by resurrection. He whose side was
raised
smitten for our redemption, rose again for our justification. This death and resurrection is here in figure applied
to Peter, for the smiting is succeeded by the rising up. have died with Him; we now rise with Him to new-
We
ness of
life. The angel calls on Peter to respond to get up. He might have replied that he could not, that he was fastened to those two guards with heavy manacles; but he did nothing of the kind. God's commands are God's
enablements; and so Peter rose. in the conversion of the sinner*

6.
The same
thing happens
The
chains fell off.

is
"My
I
power
of sin
broken, and
soldiers
How simple!
life is
The
am free," How marvelous! knew nothing about it; were
chains are snapped; the
entirely oblivious to it all gospel, all his sins are gone; the
When
the sinner obeys the power that limited his
free to walk, to live, for God's is the acglory. "quickly," said the angel. do not The cepted time; deky! King's business requiris
broken and he
Do
it
Now
ed! haste.
Gird thyself . bind on thy sandals cast about thee follow me. Till now the thy garment had done it for salvation is of the all, Lord. angel entirely But now Peter is told what his is to be.
7.
.
Once the met. The

which Gird
responsibility saved, there are responsibilities to be angel tells him to do four things: four things every saved soul is also expected to obey.
soul
is
thyself.
We are told to gird our loins with truth
Simon Peters Deliverance (Acts 72:7-77)
207
(Ephesians 6:14); to gird up the loins of our mind (i Peter 1:13). This means that, once saved, we are
henceforth to
Christ
sits at
make up our minds to walk lives that honor Him; to set our minds on things above, where
the right hand of God.
sandals. God gives us the capacity to the message of love to others. Our feet are shod carry the with preparation of the gospel of peace. Peter was
Bind on thy
about to go forth to resume his life, marching through this rough, wicked world, so he needed to be well shod. And as we go, we spread the story of God's love;
"How beautiful are the feet of them that carry the gospel of peace"!
Put on thy garment. familiar simile in Scripture is are urged to put on the garment for a Chrisdike life. the Lord Jesus Christ as a garment that will display the
We
loveliness of Christ
(Romans 13:14); we
are
grace
"all dressed
man and
to put
up in Jesus." We are to put off tie old on the new; something which is illus-
by His
trated in our baptism,
when we
are buried with Christ:
we bury
of
life.
the old man, and henceforth walk in newness
Follow Me. That sums up the whole thing. Now we are no longer left to our own devices, to find our own way. Jesus is the Captain of our salvation; by the power of the Spirit we now live a life of devotion and Christthe One whose steps we likeness. He is our Example
are to follow.
8. The iron gate opened to them "of his own accord." The magic of the electric eye is not as new as some folks
zo8
might think; the Bible is not only up to date but far ahead of date. How many a difficulty and problem opens "of his own accord" to God's people, when they follow
on obediently under the guidance of the Lord by His

Spirit.
9.
Now at last Peter came to himself

"Now
the
I
said:
one has
self;
(verse n). He know!" One never comes to oneself till first come to Christ. The sinner is beside himbeliever, like the prodigal of Luke 15, comes to
himself
when he
returns to
it
God uses self,
once
God in repentance. And has been surrendered to Him. Self
plays a large part in even the Christian's life. God uses our self to display Himself. are to present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Him,
We
which
is
selves to
our intelligent service. And, as we yield ourHim, we learn to know His mind, for Peter
could say too, "Now I Jesus can say with joy,
know"
I,
too, as a believer in
"Now
whom to know is
I
life eternal. I
know." I know Him know His Word, while

I
daily keep on knowing more, and shall ages roll. Praise God, when one believes
do
so, as endless
God, one
really
of true knowledge. io Peter considered all that had happened (verse 12). Then he made his decision as to what to do next. The angel of the Lord had left him after doing for him what Peter could not do for himself; now he was to use his
is
knows. The Bible
the
Book
own
not
judgment.
us
God works
to
tell
what
so with us today. He does do in every given case or circum-
life, kys down in Scripture certain divine principles; then leaves us to use our own spiritual
stance in our
but
Simon
judgment.
209
We must find what the will of God is for us
personal exercise of heart and mind, while seeking light from God's Word to direct us aright.
by
11. Peter told the whole story of his experience to the saints gathered at Mary's home (verse 17); and told them to rehearse it, in turn, to the rest of the brethren
not there. So it is well to repeat the wondrous of the story delivering mercy of God, for the comfort and encouragement of God's dear people.
It
who were
has been remarked
by many
that the saints prayed

at the
for Peter, then
were astonished when he knocked
door; and this has been given as a sign of lack of faith. I do not say this is not so; however, we might note that
does not say that they prayed for Peter's deliverance, but simply that they prayed for him. I have wondered whether they may only have prayed for Peter, that he
it
might have strength and grace to meet the ordeal he was to face the next day the ordeal of his execution; the more so because they knew that no deliverance had come in for James, the brother of John. If this be so, it would still show lack of faith, in a way even more reprehensible, for then they did not even have any hope at
all
that
God would
intervene
on
Peter's behalf.
Peter slept peacefully during what for him might have been his last night on earth. It has been suggested by
some, and it seems logical, that Peter slept like a child because he knew he would not die the next day. The Lord had plainly told him (in John 21:18) that he could not die a martyr's death till he was an old man; and since he was not old yet on this occasion, therefore he could
2io
not
die.

I
wonder whether Peter remembered
that
promise of his Lord that particular night? All of us have the assurance from God that nothing can happen to any of His own unless He says so; "our times are in His Hand" not in the hands of men.
These are some of the lessons we may profit by, as gleaned from this deliverance of Simon Peter. May the Lord sanctify them to us!
The Conversion
of the Philippian Jailor
"AND WHEN her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, which
are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against
them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many
upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks,
stripes
"And
at midnight Paul
and
Silas
prayed, and sang
praises to God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. "But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light,
And
212
and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. "And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house" Acts 16: 19-34
This
is
the book
Cornelius
the fifth conversion to God, detailed for us in of Acts. First that of the Ethiopian eunuch a
the Jew; next of
black man; then of Saul of Tarsus
whose
the Gentile; in this chapter that of Lydia, heart the Lord opened the first convert in
Europe being a woman; and now that of this rough prison warden, suddenly changed from a heartless, cruel man into a humble follower of the lowly Jesus. The circumstances in connection with
his salvation are precious
and
full
The
of pertinent instruction. servants of God Paul and Silas

arrested, cruelly beaten,
were uncere-
moniously an underground dungeon. After putting many stripes upon them, the magistrates charged the jailor to keep the prisoners secure, apparently with the intention of treating them even more severely later on. This jailor shows his character by not just putting them into the inner prison, but thrusting them there. The inner prison
and then thrust into
The
is
Philippian Jailor (Acts 16:19-34)
21 j
said to
have been a dark, damp, windowless, under-
hole; there, in addition, in spite of their bleeding backs, they were put in the stocks. Those
ground
rawr
who
have seen pictures of the "pillory" in use some centuries ago will know what stocks looked like, and can realize the painful distress they caused to these messengers of the Lord.
Yet, instead of groaning or complaining, or merely suffering in silence, commiserating themselves upon
their
state, these preachers prayed and sang' and at midnight, too the darkest hour! to God; praises their I guess the throbbing of wounds did not permit
wretched
them to sleep, so they decided to wake up others and not let them sleep either; they were successful, for we read that the prisoners heard them. Paul and Silas
prayed, praised, and preached in prison. What a testimony to the triumphant grace of God! If midnight stands for the darkest part of the night, it suggests that
true believers, even in the most distressful hours of their to the Lord. It is easy experience, can yet sing praises when to be happy everything goes well; but true spiritual power is apparent when the believer can sang in
hours of sorrow or pain. The other prisoners heard and one may be sure that they marveled at the unwonted sounds coming from the dungeon below.
answered the faith and courage of His servants in a most remarkable, startling way. There was a great foundations of die strucearthquake which rocked the all the broke doors, and loosed every prisonture, open his hands aad legs. Did you ever hear of chains off er's
God
zi4
an earthquake that leaves a big building standing but one that makes chains fall off only* opens the doors; or hands or legs? This peculiar earthquake was meant to
impress
upon
these
men
that
God was
working; that
often takes a special earthquake to arouse sinners to their need; to wake them up to their fearful danger and the doom that lies ahead. Such moral
speaking. It
God was
earthquakes happen every day* The earthquake shock aroused the turnkey from his and logically consleep. Seeing the prison doors open
all the prisoners had used this golden opto portunity escape, he drew out his sword and was about to commit suicide when arrested by a loud voice,
cluding that
from the
shouted:
named Paul, who we are all here." harm: no for thyself That cry brought the warden trembling to the feet of those he had treated so brutally the night before, and he cried, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" We do not read that the earthquake made this warden tremble, but the voice of Paul did. And it is no wonder, for Paul's
lips
of his notable prisoner
"Do
cry contains three of the most

truths that the sinner
i.
startling, revolutionizing
must
face, either here or hereafter:
It
himself? That he did know is the fact that he proven by called to him to do himself no harm. Remember that it was midnight and pitch dark; that the apostles were in an underground dungeon where they could not possibly see anything or anyone. Yet they "saw" this man was about to plunge the sword into his heart. How
kill
Paul
know
spoke of the "omniscience" of God. this wretched sinner was about to
How
did
The
could they

this?
served had revealed the
God whom they The jailor realized he had to do with a God who could see in the dark; a God who knows everything. The jailor learned he was face to face with Him who knew his every sin
Evidently the
jailor's act to them.
know
and wickedness. All sinners should remember this. They have to meet a God before whose eyes all things are naked and open. It is impossible to hide one's sins from Him; He knows. He can see in the dark. 2. Paul's cry spoke of the "omnipotence" of God.
here." Imagine a prison, full of men awaiting trial for their crimes and many perhaps waiting for the day of execution; all their chains had
Paul cried:
"We
are
all
dropped
off; all
assures the jailor not
the prison doors were open. Yet Paul one of them had run away. Not
one of them had used this golden opportunity for freedom. There is only one explanation for this. The same
God who knows

everything.
everything
is
also the
God who
all
holds
The same God who
loosed
the chains
and blasted all the doors open, who had used His power to do this, now employed that same power to keep those What a God! Yes, that wicked prisoners from escaping. rpfln learned that night what every sinner needs to learn
God is a God of Almighty power. None withstand Him and escape. He will keep sinners in
that
forever,
can
hell
and
it
will not require locked doors or hand*
cbffs either.
Then, most blessed, the jailor learned that this God Do thyself no harm" told is a God of wondrous love. him so. He found out that the God whose servants he
3.
<
216
had so abused, loved him better than he loved himself. He was about to commit suicide to rob himself forever of a chance for divine mercy, or a chance to escape
But this God he knew not hitherto had stopped htm- Yes indeed, God's love is boundless; love told out to the full in the Cross of our Saviour
the damnation of
hell.
Jesus Christ.
No wonder he
since
came in trembling. Many a sinner has
come trembling to the feet of Jesus, marveling at the grace offered to him through the undeserved grace of God. This sinner called for a light; when a soul is
aroused from the sleep of death, the
Tight."
first
thing wanted
is
"What must
lieve
do to be saved?"
To
a soul evidently
under conviction of sin, the precious ready reply is: "Beon the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." I am sure that all the emphasis should be placed on the
words, "the Lord Jesus Christ"; not on the believing. You can believe anything or anyone, but that will not
save the soul.
Only
He can save.
This
man was not
told
to go and do something in order to be saved, but to look to Him who has done it all; to look to Jesus.
The
all
promise of salvation was not only to him but to that were in his house. The amazing conversion of
the father apparently made the family ready and eager to listen to the message of salvation, too; and how Paul and Silas would delight to tell the sweet story of Jesus
and His love to all of them. All of them believed and rejoiced and were baptized as an expression of their
The
faith in the
217
Son of God, of whom probably that night heard for the first time. they Further, the jailor showed the reality of his conversion by the instant change in his conduct. He brought
Paul and
Silas
out of the dungeon, washed their wounds,
brought them into his house, and made them a feast all sure proofs of the reality of his new birth; evidences of a new nature bearing fruit for God. It is to me intensely interesting to note that Paul preached first to this family, before anything else was done. The wash-
ing of their wounds, the needed food, etc., all had to wait while the story of God's love was told to this trou-
What amazing self-abnegation this depicts! And now one wonders what reaction was produced in the prisoners who were, if not witnesses, at least aubled soul.
ditors of all this. Their
bonds were loosed; the doors
were open; the light shone in the prison; they could hear and probably see all that went on; and they were presfled.
ent at that wonderful meeting, for, as we saw, none had They might, as the jailor did, have fallen down at
Paul's feet
and
called for
mercy
to the
God who
had
so wondrously displayed His power and glory. Did they? The Bible leaves the answer unsaid. No doubt the
chains were put on again, the doors were secured, and the preachers of the gospel went out, leaving the sadness and darkness of prison life behind. So today, how many there are who listen to the praying, praising, and preaching that goes on all around
them; but
it
leaves
them unmoved.
How many
have
218
been brought up in Christian homes; have heard the good news all their lives; yet turn away from it untouched. These servants of Christ were there for a little whole, and then they left. So the ministers of the gospel are in this world, which is truly a prison to the re-
deemed soul. By-and-by they will leave to go home to Heaven; and for the prisoners of sin left behind there remains the eternal darkness, sorrow, and regret. How is it with you, who read these lines? Now anyone may come to Christ, as these prisoners might have come to Paul and Silas. But someday, when the day of grace is
over, the chains will bind irrevocably those who turn away. Oh, "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
34
"Who Are
Ye?"
""THEN CERTAIN of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but ivho are ye?
"And
the
man
in
whom the
evil spirit
was leaped on
them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and die name of the Lord was magnified." Acts 19: 13-17 Acts 19 records Paul's long stay in Ephesus, with
its
many
that
all
interesting experiences. in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the
We
are told in verse 10
word
of the Lord Jesus.
The Word of God mightily grew and

works, Satan also
prevailed, as we learn from verse 20. More miracles were done by Paul here than perhaps anywhere else.
WTierever
Satan's tools,
God
is
busy.
Some of
sought
from the very family of the
priests,
to cast out evil spirits in imitation of the servants of the Lord and of the Lord Himself. The striking thing is that
220
God would not let them succeed, and used another tool of Satan to oppose the first. have a picture of Satan fighting himself; it is not believers alone who often fight each other instead of fighting the common enemy. It is
We
rather refreshing to find in our text that the devil is not much wiser either, for it is exactly what he does in this incident. On the other hand, perhaps Satan does things
loves to confuse the issue, as the fearful confusion in religious thought so clearly
like these
on purpose, for he
proves.
by using Paul preached; and the man with the evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know." Both exorcists and the evil spirit omit Christ's
the
These
exorcists tried to cast out evil spirits
Name
of Jesus,
whom
title
those
of "Lord"; which is a common practice among who are not true to Christ. It behooves believers
Lord, for it is with the mouth that we confess Jesus as Lord. Again we read that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but Ghost" (i Corby the
to call
Him
Holy
inthians 12:3).
The
is
evil
spirit
answered in these
startling
words:
"Jesus I know, and Paul I
an
evil,
satanic spirit,
know; but who are ye?" It who said, "Jesus I know." But,
as a matter of fact,
he did not
know
know
many
Jesus, for to really
to have life eternal (John 17:3). sinners claim to know the Lord when in
Jesus
is
How
reality
they do not know Him at all; of Jesus on their lips who are
in their hearts!
how many
know
take the
complete strangers to
Name Him
You may
say you
Jesus, but the
"Who Are
question
is:
7e?" (Acts 19:13-17)

you?
221
Does
He know
I
To many
not."
in that
is
day
He shall say,
Lord and
counted
"Depart,
know you
But it
a great
joy indeed to be able to say truthfully, "Jesus

If that is the case,
know."
you will gladly acknowledge surrender your life to Him, like Paul,
Him who
things but loss for the excellency of the of Christ Jesus his Lord. knowledge These exorcists used the Name of Jesus, yet when set upon by the man possessed of the evil spirit, they
all
were overcome and fled out of the house naked and wounded. Those who know Jesus only by profession, and not in true living faith, are defeated; but those who
always gain the victory naked and wounded, but the through Christian stands, instead of fleeing; he is clothed in the best robe of righteousness and with the armor of God, instead of being naked. Instead of being overcome, he is
truly
Christ.
know and
love
Him
These
fled
more than conqueror through His Name!
Him
that loves us. Praise
The
evil spirit said: "Jesus I
know, and Paul
know."
Those two are indeed worth knowing. "But who are ye?" Satan tells us here, by the mouth of this evil spirit,
that he does not care to
though they
the devil
is
know the lesser lights, even were some of his own dupes. It seems that
a snob.
How unlike
our blessed Lord, whose
heart goes out to the most insignificant and humblest of His saints. The Lord knoweth them that are His;
He
loves
all
His
own
with an eternal
to
know
only the aristocracy;
But Satan cares he does not hobnob with

love.
222
sinners.
He
common
The
does not care to keep company with the sinner, yet will spend eternity with sinners of
the deepest dye.
own
knew Jesus and Paul and was willing to "But who are ye?" Satan acquaintance with them.
evil spirit
had only contempt for this small fry. I wonder whether the devil would admit knowing me? Would he want to
say of
me as of these: "Who are you? I never heard of does not pay any you." The Bible indicates that Satan God's of to attention people. It shows many particular
he
specially
notices
the
worth-while
in Scripture
among God's
saints.
were the obAll the "great" notice and animosity. It is truly an jects of the devil's honor when Satan cares to know you.
were: "Job I know." The devil's rein Lord Job 1:9-12 shows he had well conply to the sidered Job and knew that he was an outstanding character; one whose fall would be a real victory for Satan. Satan said, as it were: "Peter I know." Said the Lord
Satan
said, as it
men
to Peter: "Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy
faith fail not"
(Luke 22:31-32). Peter was an aggressive, forthright follower of Christ and the devil felt that if he could get him to fall, it would be a most important victory for him and a defeat for the Lord Jesus. Satan said, as it were: "Paul I know. I'll get him discouraged and I'll make him give up his militant service
And so God permitted Satan to afflict Paul with some physical irritation a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him (2 Corinthians 12:7).
for Christ."
"Who Are
Ye?" (Acts 19:13-17)

devil's
223
And what can we say concerning the
acknowl-
edgment of the greatness of our glorious Lord? Truly he said of Him: "J esus I know." one was ever har-
No
assed
and persecuted and
tried
by Satan
like
our ador-
able Lord, but He could triumphantly say to him twice over: "Get thee behind Me, Satan." Once at the beginning of His public ministry when Satan sought to turn
Him
from the Cross by dangling before Him the glory of this world; then again at the end when he sought to dissuade Him by reminding Him of the shame of the
cross
(Matthew 16:22-23).
all
In
these cases, and in
feated. In our text
he made
many more, Satan was dehis own emissaries run, but
he can't make the Lord Jesus or His servants run; these were all made only the more outstandingly useful
through their experience at the
Yes, Satan
I
devil's hands.
Paul Does he know even the devil would not be anxious to acknowledge acquaintance with me. As one has well said: if you never want to be bothered by the devil, just do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
knows
me?
would hate to
Jesus, Peter, live so that
As a result of all this, the Name of the Lord Jesus was magnified (verse 17) . The devil's defeat and the believer's victory alike bring glory to the Name of Him under whose banner we fight the fight of faith.
Eutychus Fell Donun
"AND WE sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. "And there sat in a window a certain young man
named Eutychus, being

fell
fallen into a
deep sleep; and as

sleep,
Paul was long preaching, he sunk
down with
and
down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. "And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embrac-
ing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him." When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. And they brought the man alive, and were not a litde comforted" young Acts 20:6-12
travels is one of pet subjects, on which I love to speak. It is full of practical instruction, and presented in a graphic, pictorial manner. Let us look at it in detail:
This unique experience during Paul's
my
224
Eutychus Fell
Down
(Acts 20:6-12)
225
Paul is on his way to Jerusalem, on that final journey that eventually ended in his martyrdom in Rome. the way they stopped off at Troas (the Troy of Greek
On
history), and arrived there on a Monday; for we are told they remained there seven days and left the morn-
ing after the
first
day of the week, the day on which
Eutychus'
fall
occurred.
Please notice that Paul stayed at Troas for a full week, apparently to be with these saints on Lord's day for the
breaking of bread with them. It seems to me this shows how precious the remembrance feast was to him, specially
when he was
so anxious to get
down
to Jerusa-
lem that he would not even stop at Ephesus (verse 16). Is the remembrance of the Lord precious to you? It is the expression of Christian unity and fellowship on earth
the only physical, visible evidence of the oneness of believers, and of course also of the infinite worth of the
death of our Lord at Calvary. Next, notice that they met on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread. The language indicates that it was their custom to meet
every Lord's day for this happy and holy occasion; it furnishes strong proof the early disciples understood it was the Lord's desire that His people should celebrate His death in this way at least once a week.
Then, there were many lights in the chamber where they met. These should tell us that, when saints meet,
there are truly many lights present in a spiritual sense. There is the light of God's precious Word; the light of
the
Holy
Spirit cast
upon the pages of the
Word
illu-
226
minating
there
all
is
it for us, for He is called the Spirit of "Light"; the light each individual believer sheds, for we shine as lights in the world. Truly the upper chamis
ber
well
lit;
we believers live truly in a blaze
of glory.
They met at night. Down below was darkness, but up above it was light. Even so, this world lies in the darkness of sin and unbelief, while the saints enjoy the light of God's presence and of His Word. It was so in Egypt
long ago; there was one mighty difference those three days of thick darkness. It was dark all over the land, but the children of Israel had light in their dwellings; in
Egypt it was dark inside and outside, but in Israel there was bright light within. These in Acts 20 met in an upper room, three stories
above the ground, for
we read that Eutychus fell down

The number
from the
three in Scripture stands for the deity, as well as for the death and the third-day resurrection of Christ. So in this picture we
see these believers, as
third loft.
world; separated by
were, above the level of the the death and resurrection of their
it
Lord from the
sinful
world around; elevated that much
above the world's level

Paul preached unto them; thus they enjoyed the ministry of this chosen vessel, to whom had been committed
the unfolding of truth concerning the Church the heavenly character of its blessings and destiny. It is the
ministry in Scripture that tells us we are not of this world, that bids us to set our mind on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Notice
Eutychus Fell
D&wn
(Acts 20:6-12)
227
how
richly these saints were blessed, as we are in this of Christian grace. day They had at least five great privileges to enjoy:
1.
There was the fellowship of
saints;
for they
came
together.
2. They had the privilege of remembering the Lord in His precious death. 3. They met in a blaze of light; for all believers are in
the light.
4.
They were
in spiritual elevation above the
low
level of the world.

5.
They had
the wonderful
is
New
Testament minis-
try, of
which the aposde
the great exponent in the
Scriptures.
truly "well off," which is always a the material or spiritual realm. Prosdanger, whether in is very apt to lead to self-confidence and spiritual perity
carelessness.
Thus they were
This
is illustrated
in the story of this

off."
young
man Eutychus who

name means
well
off,
fell
out of the window, for his very
just
that:
"Well
When
believers are
they are apt to fall, as this young man did. Eutychus was sitting in a window, which is a very dangerous spot to be in, specially when this window is on die third floor. Someone should have pulled him to
safer territory ere
he felL When a believer is sitting in a window which means that he is neither in the room Christian should be nor out he is in serious danger. out-and-out for Christ, and in-and-in with the saints. young man sitting in the window on the third floor is
228
afflicted

with too big a dose of self-confidence, and selfis always misplaced confidence, as this fel-
confidence
low
shortly
was
to find out.
When Peter said, "Though
all shall
deny Thee, yet will not I," he had already fallen, though he wist it not. Elders should be on the alert for young believers afflicted with self-conceit, for they are headed for a fall. Better take them in before
they become down-and-out. was Eutychus sitting in the window anyway? not sit with his brothers and sisters? Could it be Why he was at loggerheads with them? Often when believers begin to sit further and further to the rear of the meeting place, we may see an indication of spiritual departure; the time to go after them in love is then, not later.
Why
Elder brethren, with hearts of love for the saints, should watch for any indication of creeping coldness and spiritual paralysis.
Perhaps Eutychus had not been coming regularly to the meetings, but, having heard of the coming of this famous apostle, he made it a point to be there that night.
We have many of those sermon-tasters among us. They

to services only on special occasions. They tell you they don't come regularly because they get so little out of the ordinary prayer meeting or Bible study.
come
They have the wrong psychology;

that
we
should
give.
come
to
meet with the
the Scripture teaches saints not to get
but to
Eutychus may have come to hear Paul
preach and not finding him so very interesting after all, he fell asleep. (It gives me a sort of sneaky satisfaction
to find that at least one person went to sleep under Paul's
Eirtychzis Fell
Down
(Acts 20:6-12)
229
preaching; I don't feel so badly now when they do it under mine.) Eutychus may have learned the hard way that it is not the preacher that makes the Word precious, but the condition of soul of the hearer. If you have a soul for the food you will get food for your soul. All of a sudden Paul's sermon is interrupted by a
Eutychus fell out of the window all the way down to the ground floor three stories down. But, before he fell, he had fallen already. His fall from the window was not a sudden affair. Verse 9 tells us that he had fallen long before he fell. He had fallen into a deep sleep before he fell out of the window. The first fall was not as spectacular as the second, but it was by far the more fatal. The second fall resulted in his tells us the story blessing; the first in his grief and pain. It that spiritually speaking no believer ever falls sudcrashing
fall.
denly.
Perhaps a saint
others marvel at
if
it
falls
into
some
terrible
moral
sin;
and
say, "I just can't believe it."

sees,
But
you could have seen what God
you would have
seen that the seed of that collapse had been planted long before. There is no such thing as falling into sin; the
soul walks into
it, rather, oftentimes over a period of and then suddenly the inward rot breaks out into years; outward corruption. all know his sad sin Take David as a sample. did not happen This in connection with Bathsheba. told they were not overnight. The kings of Israel were
We
to multiply wives to themselves (Deuteronomy 17:17); they were to have only one wife each. Yet David had
230
married one
Acts of the Apostks
woman
after another in clear defiance of
God's written Word. He had yielded to his passion for women done it within the limits of the kw by legally marrying them; but the time came when this desire led him astray, and we know how he suffered for it all the
rest of his life.
Eutychus fell all the way from the third-floor darkness separation from the world and its spiritual down to its sad level, all the way from the top to the bottom. How many of us, before or since, have done so too. Peter at one moment said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God"; and not long after, with curses and
swore saying, "I know not the man of whom ye speak." Can it be possible? Yes, it is; with Simon Peter and with you and me, too. Remember this: the Scripoaths,
ture teaches that the flesh in the believer
is
no
better
never improves; it must than in the unbeliever. be kept under as the believer walks with God in humilflesh
ity, daily
The
Now
man.
dependence, and unsparing self-judgment. Paul went down and fell on this fallen young
amazing? Eutychus fell all the way from the third floor to the bottom, and now Paul falls on him some more. You'd thinlr he had had enough, and that
Isn't this
Paul was only adding insult to injury. But please note that Paul 'went down first, before he fell on him. He did
not
the
fall
on
this foolish
young man from

fell
rior elevation
on the
third floor, but
own supehe went down to

his
young man's level and then
on him.
a lovely picture this is of the ministry of a true If we are to be a pastor. help to a fallen believer and be
What
Eutychus Fell
Doim
(Acts 20:6-12)
231
used to his restoration, we must not fall on him from our height, but go down to his level. If we fall on him
from the
are apt to knock the last bit of breath out of him, if there is any left; and injure not only the fallen one but ourself as well. When a Christhird floor
we
tian sins,
some jump on him from their exalted spiritual superiority and perhaps they say: "You should not have done it; I would never do a thing like that; you ought to get all that is coming to you/' No, God's Word tells us to restore the fallen one "in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." In other words, to do as Paul did: go down to the level of the
fallen one,
judgment to bring
Lord.
and in tenderness seek in humility and selfhim back to communion with the
what Paul did. He went down; then fell on him; then embraced him. Note these three great steps. First come to the fallen one in humility and selftell him seriabnegation; then (by falling on him) do he has brought awful dishonor the and of ously plainly on the Name of Christ; then embrace him; that is, in love seek to win him back to the One against whom he
That
is
has sinned. Paul pressed this young man to his own beatword "eming heart of love and compassion. That braced" is a very strong word, suggesting that he fer-
love is a strong vently pressed him to his bosom. Ah, one. most sinful cord that will bind the weakest, Paul said: "His life is in him." It is not clear from the
text
that he
whether this means that the fall had killed him or was merely restored from the shock and result
232 of the
fall
fall.
When
the
Word
would
rather ambiguous
it is
of God leaves the language often intended to be so. If the

in
its
had
killed him, it
spiritual
meaning sug-
gest that the young man represents an unbeliever one who has no divine life. Sinners often fall into serious sin
which may lead to their conversion, through the mercy of God. If the young man had not died from the fall, it would indicate, I believe, that he represents a believer, for no matter how serious a fall a believer may sustain, he cannot by it lose his salvation. Such need restoration; need to confess their sins to be restored to communion with God and with His saints. In either case,
the ministry performed by Paul has its message for every should seek the salvation of shepherd of the sheep. the lost and the restoration of the saved. Love will ac-
We
complish so much in either case. After the excitement Paul continued preaching for a long time, rill break of day. Just because Eutychus fell down, Paul did not take the blame for it because of his lengthy sermon, but kept on. One would love to see sermons nowadays interrupted by some such sensational incident the recovery of fallen saints or the conversion of lost sinners.
PauFs Address to the Elders of Ephesus

Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: and how I kept
elders of the church.
"AND FROM
back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, testifying both to die Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. "And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnessed! in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to
testify the gospel of the grace of
God.
all,
"And now,
behold,
know
that ye
among
whom
I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this
234
of all men. For I day, that I am pure from the blood have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of
God. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath I know this, that purchased with His own blood. For
after
shall you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. "Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and
my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among
day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed
to give than to receive.
"And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of that all for the words which he spake, they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship" Acts 20:17-38
Address to Elders at Ephesus (Acts 20:17-38)

In this chapter
as recorded, since
235
we
reach the end of PauPs ministry
from here on he becomes a prisoner
of the Lord and eventually His martyr. His missionary zeal in going to the regions beyond is approaching its
now before us contain a matchsummation of his labors of the past years; his present advice and warning; and the future prospect and its testimony for Christ. The whole portion is a beautiful comment on the man, his methods, ministry, message, manner of life, meekness of mind, and modesty. It is the voice of one who was not only an evangelist entrusted with the gospel of God's grace, but also a teacher par excellence, and a true pastor of the flock* This valeclimax and the verses
less
dictory address
is
truly a marvelous expression of the
ideal Christian ministry and has the highest possible value for every earnest Christian who seeks to serve the
Lord
tiles.
after the great
example of the apostle to the Gen-
Paul calls for the elders of the church of Ephesus. Not the elders of Corinth, or of Galatia, but of Ephesus, where the full truth as to the Church and its heavenly character was taught as it is in the Epistle to the Ephesians so clearly
expounded* Paul's farewell address
is
God's
Word
for His Church today.
Paul contemplates no apostolic succession, as some falsely claim today. The only apostolic succession he
knows of
all
is
sparing the flock.
that of grievous wolves entering in, not come to fully that prediction has
How
Church history bears witness. From among pass, themselves would men arise speaking perverse things,
236
of evil drawing away disciples after them. Paul warns as from without. There well as within from coming were to be no successors to the apostles, but the Lord
would raise up elders in the assemblies of the saints, to take on themselves the care of the Lord's people. To them Paul leaves his last words of advice and warning, and presents his own sacrificial life as a sample of true
Christian devotion.
Note
ister
these features in the
make-up of the true min-
of Christ: 1. He served the Lord with all humility of mind (verse 19). The first and foremost quality in a preacher should be humility. Nothing is more contemptible than
and pride. The servant of Christ should be clothed (girded) with humility. 2. He served with many tears (verse 19). For three years he warned everyone night and day with tears (verse 31). The sower is to go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, watering the Word with his tears and ever call for the prayers. Lost sinners and needy saints of the true pastor. of soul exercise on the part deepest was back Paul that 3. nothing profitable (verse kept 20). He had not shunned declaring unto them all the counsel of God (verse 27). He was no timeserver; he did not seek to please men, and so he was pure from the blood of all men. As a faithful servant he did not always come in the spirit of meekness, but sometimes had to use the rod (i Corinthians 4: 21). 4. He taught the truth publicly and from house to house. Not only from the platform, but in personal contact with individuals he preached Christ. Oftentimes the
spiritual conceit
237
personal touch is far more effective than any other type or method in reaching souls.
not in the Lord's work for the sake of money (verse 33). He does teach that it is right that the minister of the Word should be supported, for they that preach the gospel should live of the gospel. But it is
5.
He was
wrong
to pretend the service of the Lord for the sake of material gain; yet how often is the Name of Christ dis-
honored by greedy self-seeking interest. 6. Instead of looking for money, Paul had worked with his own hands and supported not only himself but also those with him (verses 34-35). Many can serve the Lord effectively and at the same time earn their own living. Paul bids the elders to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that it is "more blessed to give than to receive." Such words are not recorded anywhere in any of the Gospels, but their sentiment was embodied in our Lord's preaching and practising. Perhaps He did say those very words; they are certainly worth remembering at
tion.
all times.
7. Paul's
whole
life
had been one of
total self-abnega-
(verse 24) , so that he might finish his course with joy. He did not count his life dear to himself; he counted it dear to his Lord. life, unless lived for Christ, is really not worth
He did not count his life dear to himself
anything. lived for
No
need to
it is
Him,
set a high value on it. But, when indeed priceless and then it is perit
fectly safe to leave
in
His hands.
He knows
how,
where, when, and how long to use it. One can afford to be "reckless" with his life when k has been committed
to
Him.
238
8. No one perhaps ever knew such trials, suffering, and dishonor as did Paul, but it did not make him cynical. He says that he wanted to finish his course with joy (verse 24). He knew much of sorrow, yet he was always rejoicing. So like his Master, who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame; who could say, with the Cross and all its awful horror before Him: "I delight to do Thy will, O God." The Christian's service should not be one of cold duty, but of a
warm,
9.
loving, joyous response. Paul preached a fourfold message as suggested in
this address:
repentance toward
God
and
faith
toward our Lord
Jesus Christ (verse 21); the gospel of the grace of
God
(verse 24) ;
the
kingdom of God (verse 25); the whole counsel of God (verse

seems to
27).
It
me
the
first
and third
that in these four types of ministry stress the truth of the believer's re-
sponsibility: first of all to repent and believe the gospel as a sinner; then to be obedient as a in His
subject
dom
The
king-
to be counted
worthy of the kingdom of God,
for which
we
also suffer (2 Thessalonians 1:5).
other two, the second and fourth, present God's the of His matchless first, love sovereign grace: gospel
tles.
Episministry completely covered every phase of gospel and Christian teaching.
preached to lost sinners, and then the whole revelation of divine truth so fully developed in the Christian
Thus
Paul's varied
239
And now
this
aged servant of the Lord, about to
leave those dear saints forever, commits them to and to the Word of His grace. He does not commit
God
them
to popes or priests, to lords or laymen, but to God to the God who has revealed Himself as a God of grace. To God who is quite able to make the feeblest of His
people understand His received the Spirit of
Word,
God
for every believer has that he might know the
things freely given to him of God (i Corinthians 2: 12). Paul reminds these Ephesian elders that the Holy
had made them overseers (the same word is translated bishops, as in Philippians 1:1 and elsewhere). Though we read in Acts that Paul had appointed these men to their service as elders, yet he tells them it had been done under the guidance and by the authority of the Spirit of God. While the Lord Jesus is the only Head of the Church that the Bible recognizes, He sees fit to raise up, in each assembly of His saints, hutnan leaders called elders as to their age; and overseers or bishops as to their qualification. Scripture makes no provision
Spirit
for the appointment of elders after Paul's departure, but it does show that those who are fitted by God to
lead
and guide the teemed highly for

5:12-13).
saints
should be recognized and es-
their works* sake (i Thessalonians
These
elders are told, first of
all,
to take heed to
tells Timothy the same thing (i where we read: "Take heed unto thyTimothy 4:16)
"themselves." Paul
self."
that their
Leaders among the Lord's people should see to it own lives are consistent so that they be godly,
240
grave, and gracious. in i Timothy 3:1-7.
Read the
qualifications of
an elder
Secondly, they should look after the flock. Peter, himself an elder, tells us the same thing in i Peter 5:1-5.
The
flock, says Peter, is the flock of ministers talk about "my" flock, but
God
it is
(sometimes not theirs);
in Acts 20 and in
-feed is the
often preachers fleece the flock rather than feed it. Both i Peter 5 the Greek word translated
word
shepherd.
The
people of
God
of course
need food, and
it is
a great privilege to lead the sheep to
green pastures; but they specially need pastoral care and wise leadership.
The Authorized Version
reads that the
Holy
Spirit
had made these elders overseers over the flock, but the Greek word means rather among, as it is correctly given
in
i Peter 5:2. Elders are not given a place as lords, but of leaders; not over, but amidst the flock. They are part of and with the saints, leading them not by virtue of conferred authority, but by spiritual and
example
divinely-given ability. Such shepherds are directly responsible to the "Chief Shepherd, and at that day shall
receive the
crown of glory from His
hands. It
is
to our
saints
Lord a very precious ministry; His blood-bought are very dear to Him. Following Paul's example these elders were to:
Take heed to themselves; shepherd the flock; watch over them and warn them. Blessed is the church that has
earnest, consecrated elders to lead the believers to
green
pastures and beside the still waters, as well as to protect the lambs from the ravening wolf.
"7 Verily
Thought With Myself

,
"I VERILY
things
THOUGHT with mysfclf that I ought to do many contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth."
Acts 26:9
like to devote a litde space to this unique confession of the erstwhile persecutor of the saints as
I
would
he rehearses before King Agrippa

perience. There are
this
i.
his sensational ex-
remarkable
I
at least seven interesting points in verse:

filled his vision.
is
the
wrong person
is
What
an en-
emy when
this "I"
it is
to the natural man! It
crucified with Christ;

it is
when
a great relief true deliverance

I,
and peace are known; when
no longer
but Christ
who
2.
dwells in me, that

verily
sits
on the throne of
my heart.
thought
and he thought wrong.
How
man
not prides himself on his intellectual capacity, knowing, it seems, what the Scriptures teach so clearly: that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts as the
heavens are higher than the earth. God has given a revelationthe Scriptures of truth to guide our thinking,
to set and keep our thoughts in the right channels. Every thought must be brought into captivity to the obedience
of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

3. I
thought with myself

241
What
a tragedy looms in
242
this unique expression of opinionated self-sufficiency. It reminds one of the story our Lord told about the fanner whose barns were bursting with crops and who thought "within himself' saying, 'What shall I do?" It is like the
Pharisee of
Luke
18
who
prayed "with himself."
None
of these sought counsel elsewhere; they knew it all; they left God out of their reckoning. In prayer we seek counsel from God, but Saul never really asked advice
from the God he professed to serve. His very thoughts did not leave home. The most narrow-minded person is the one who leaves God out; whose thoughts never leave the narrow confines of his own limited brain. Depend upon it, the soul that does not seek help from the God of omniscience and omnipotence will inevitably
go wrong somewhere. Saul found fanatical zeal, that he did God's
it so.
will,
Thinking, in his he was actually
doing the exact reverse. 4. I ought to. Duty was Saul of Tarsus' motive prior to his conversion. Duty is but a cold, often heartless
motive.
"Son,
Duty fails to render the heart to God, who says, give Me thine heart!" The commandments did
not say first "thou shalt serve the Lord thy God," but "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart." The elder son said to his father, "Lo, these many
serve thee," but it had made him only hard and censorious when his sinful but repentant prodigal brother was welcomed home. A life ordered by duty can be very hard, cold, and Pharasaic. The worst madman is a religious one; in others the conscience is a restraining force; in him it becomes a relent-
years do
and
bitter
"7 Verily
lessly
Thought With Myself (Acts 26:9)
243
compelling one. Conscience made Saul a murderer of Christians; love, the mighty love of Christ, made him a humble follower of the Lord Jesus Christ
and a suffering servant of his Lord. It is the love of Christ not hard duty that is to constrain the believer henceforth
not to
live
unto himself but unto
Him
who
rose again. I 5. ought to do. Man loves to do. With God, to "be" comes first. Service from a sinner is not accept-
died for
him and
Him. Worship precedes service. The heart must be right with God before the hands are fit to do His will. do not become His by good works, but, once saved, we are created in Christ unto good works; works that flow from a heart filled with the wonder of the
able to
We
love of Christ.
6.
Many
10,
things. But, as the
Lord
said of
Mary
in
Luke
"One
thing
is
needful."
As Paul
writes in Phi-
lippians 3:13: "This
one thing I do"; I press toward the mark, forgetting the things behind. The young ruler of Mark 10 did many things too, but the Saviour told him that he lacked one thing the one thing necessary.
Without saving
which produces the love of God in the soul, no works, no matter how many or how great, are worth anything in His sight; in fact, they
faith in Christ,
are sins that need to be repented of. Nazareth. Saul 7. Contrary to the Name of Jesus of the evil root was that of Tarsus did not know Jesus; all his evil course. He learned to from which
sprang
know and
love
Him
later,
and
his
whole
life
became
revolutionized.
From
became the perpersecutor he
244
secuted;
hard duty became transmuted into loving, once he despised, He learned that the now despised Jesus of Nazareth was actually the Lord of glory, for at his conversion he saw Him in the opened Heaven seated at the right hand of God. Henceforth he gloried in the Cross of Christ, by which the world was crucified unto him and he to the world.
lowly service. Jesus' Name, which became his boast and glory.
King Agrippa Hears
the Gospel
authority and
"WHEREUPON
as I
went
to
Damacus with
priests, at
midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art Thou, Lord? "And He said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; "Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive for-
commission from the chief
giveness of
sanctified
sins,
and inheritance among them which are
by
faith that is in
Me"
Acts 26: 12-18
Speaking of his conversion before King Agrippa, Paul mentions "a vision and a voice." Paul saw a light above the brightness of the sun. He tells us on another occa-
246
sion that he
saw the Lord
at this time.
At
Creation
God
the light to shine out of darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6), as the light of the sun later on was seen in its glory. But a light far brighter the light of the
commanded
knowledge of the glory of

the sinner, as here
God
in the face of Jesus
Christ shines into the darkened heart
when God meets
met Paul. The glorious light Paul and which smote him blind, is the light we see in a saw,
spiritual
He
way when we
see Christ as our Saviour. Paul

after his ministry
saw a light from Heaven and ever marked by that heavenly glow.
was
Then he
heard a voice
the voice of the
A voice that called him by name and that
Lord Jesus. sent him forth
to preach Christ to the world. In a different way through the Word by the Spirit that same voice calls
us and sends us forth with tie gospel also. The Lord said to Paul that He appeared to him to
make him
a minister
and a witness, delivering him from
the people (of Israel) and from the Gentiles, unto whom now He sent him. That word deliver means to take up
or take out; the thought seems to be that Paul henceforth
would be no longer a Jew and certainly not a Gentile, but he would be taken out from both and belong to this new Body the Church which is neither Jew nor Genthough composed of both God's by grace.
tile,
classes,
but those saved
Paul's eyes were first closed to his awful past, then opened to see Christ in His glory; and now he is sent out
ness to light and
to "open the eyes" of others and to turn them from darkfrom the power of Satan unto God.
King Agrippa Hears the Gospel (Acts 26:12-18)

Paul says he had a threefold message to proclaim, with
three negative blessings and three positive ones.
The
1.
negative ones are: To turn men from darkness, from the moral dark-
ness in
2.
which the sinner lives and moves. turn men from the power of Satan. From sin and from Satan, from the guilt and from the power of
To
sin.
receive forgiveness of sins. All the deeds of the past wiped away forever, for the blood of Jesus cleanseth
3.
To
from
all sin.
three positive blessings: 4. To turn men to light. As Peter says: "God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." And
The
walk till traveling days are done. God. How 5. domination the sinister from deliverance is wonderful of the devil into the liberty of grace wherewith Christ sets us free. God has not only saved us, but now by His lives in us, to will as well as to do His good pleasSpirit
in that light of life we'll
To turn from the power of Satan unto
ure.
To assure the believer of a heavenly inheritance, which we already now may enjoy in large measure as God has put within us the "earnest" of His Spirit (Ephe6.
sians 1:14).
is
In these three positive blessings the believer in Jesus lifted into a new position; he receives a new power
and faces a new prospect. all King Agrippa, what do you have to say about this? What do you have in comparison that is worth
248
having?
earthly power, your greed, and your lust. Says Paul to him, "I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both
You with your
almost, and altogether such as
I am, except these bonds." prisoner was far happier than the king. So is every believer in Jesus no matter how humble his station in
The
life.
39
The
Serpent and the Fire

escaped, then they
"AND WHEN they were

the island
knew
that
was called Melita. And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of tie present rain, and
because of the cold. "And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw
the
venomous
beast
themselves,
No
hang on his hand, they said among doubt this man is a murderer, whom,
though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and
felt
no harm.
"Howbeit, they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god" Acts
28:1-6
There are some helpful lessons to be learned from this appealing sidelight on Paul's experiences. Because of the rain and the cold a fire had been kinbarbarous people did it, we are told. Oftentimes sinners can be more kind in acts of thoughtfulness
dled.
The
249
250
than Christians
bodies,

are.
it
As
these needed
warmth
for their
we need
for our souls. Believers so readily get
cold in a spiritual way; they need fire to keep warm and zealous in the cause of Christ and the enjoyment of His
Word. Various means of keeping warm are suggested in the Bible. One very important one is, of course, by the heart wanned with the precious truth of having the Word. As the Psalmist says, 'While I was musing the
burned" (Psalm 39:3). There is a tremendous need on God's Word, so that the Lord and His Word may be precious to us. Another thing that
fire
for meditation
keeps us
warm is jealousy for the honor of our Lord,
for
we
Song of Solomon 8:6 most vehement flame.

are told in
that jealousy has a

is
One
of the best ways to keep
warm
to
meet with
fellow believers. Ecclesiastes 41 1 1 well raises the question: "How can one be warm alone?" fire, in order to
burn
brightly,
must be made up of a number of
coals or
a number of
sticks.
God
has instituted Christian fellow-
ship for the purpose of keeping the saints alive to His things.
warm and
story has often been told of a brother who stopped attending services* with plenty of cause for discontent, in his
see
The
own
judgment.
at
true pastor
a
went to
fire
him and found him
home with
cheery
of
coals in the fireplace. After greetings and preliminary the visitor a took white hot coal of fire, and remarks,
with the tongs
by
itself.
on the hearth in front of the fire, About ten minutes later, when the coal had
laid it
become cold and
black, he picked
it
up with
his bare
The Serpent and

hand, threw
251
it back on the fire, got his hat, bade his host and went without another word. The out, good night sermon was as clear as day. When one gets away from association with other believers, one soon gets cold and dark and useless. Paul enjoyed the fire, but he well knew the scriptural
teaching that true Christianity consists not merely of enjoying privileges but also of shouldering responsibility. Do you? If you really want to enjoy the warmth of
Christian
love,
how
about contributing towards
it?
"Pick up sticks" is the slogan for happy Christian fellowship. Paul gathered a bundle of sticks* He did not think
himself above a
little
wood to keep the fire going.

this stooping so
hard work to scout around for It is hard and humble work,
low to pick up sticks. service; that is what God wants and what the saints need. There are plenty who want to have an office; not so many who want to do the work. Paul was not of that kind. He gathered a bundle (the Greek word is Tnultitude) of sticks; he worked hard and brought a big load of wood. Remember too that it was raining, so it was no pleasant job. Many saints get discouraged a little cold water is poured on their efforts; when easily
Humble
but not Paul.
would warm Paul
And the very work of gathering the wood as well. Do something for the Lord
and you'll get
So
instead of sitting shivering and criticizing warm and will warm others.
The devil does not like a happy,
useful Christian.
a viper came out of the heat and bit the apostle. Heat wakes snakes, I am told; it certainly rouses the deviL
25*

devil goes to sleep
When believers are cold or asleep, the

too;
no need to stand guard then. But let the Lord wake up His saints, let them get hot, and the devil is right
there.
These heathen had the wrong idea,
as
do so
many now
who ought to know better. have been a criminal because

him.
They
this
decided Paul must
poisonous serpent bit

Bible
The
reverse
was
true.
The
shows clearly
that Satan goes after those who walk closest to the Lord. The devil hates those whose lives and whose ministry
exalt Christ;
he ever will seek to hinder or harm them. Paul shook off the beast into the fire. Many times benot so wise.
lievers are
They allow Satan to

the devil sees a
defeat them,
instead of vice versa.
When
company of
believers get on well, when God is working and souls are being saved, then he comes in to work his wiles.
One
of the most
common and
the most dreadful
is
to
incite the saints to self-seeking and pride. These heathen looked for either one of two results in Paul's case: to see
him
swell
up or to
see
dead through Satan's apt to swell up with pride.
him drop dead. Sinners fall down lies and deceptions; believers are
How the
devil loves to see
a swelled head; how a Christian should shun it like the plague! But Paul wouldn't do either. There was no
pride in him, so to speak, though we read that God sent the messenger of Satan to buffet him, lest he should
be exalted above words; in other words, lest he should swell up with pride. God in His infinite mercy gave His
faithful servant
some
affliction to
keep him ever hum-
The Serpent and

ble. If
253
Paul needed to be kept from that curse of pride, how much more do we. Paul shook off the beast. He refused the temptation, as it were. Into the fire the snake went. Satan and all his 'ways should be unsparingly rejected and refused by the believer. When Paul failed to fall dead or swell up, the natives changed their minds and said that he was a god. He "was not, but the grace of God does enable the believer to live godlike in this present evil world! Let us all learn these precious lessons from this incident. Let us keep the fire burning brightly, wanning our own hearts, and attracting others to our precious Lord!

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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

Other Books by August Van

Glories of His Grace

August Van Ryn

FIRST EDITION, OCTOBER

Library of Congress Catalog Card Nwmber: 61-14601

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

AUGUST VAN RYN

ONE ACTS CHAPTER BY CHAPTER

Known Unto You?

Baptism The Fellowship of Saints

The Lame Man Healed The Name of Jesus

Ananias and Sapphira

Stephen the First Christian Martyr A Handful of Gems in Acts 7

Three Conversions Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus Trwo Miracles by Simon Peter

Priming the Preacher

Goes to Cornelius? Peter's Sermon

Christians First at Antioch

Last Mention of Peter

in Antioch of PauPs Message

The Gospel Preached at Iconium The Healing of an Impotent Man

Paul Stoned at Lystra

The Council at Jerusalem The Second Missionary Journey

Paul at Thessalonica Paul at Athens

Macedonia, Greece, Troas, and Miletus

PauFs Five Defenses PauFs Address to the Nation

Apology Before Agrippa

Proofs (Acts 2:1-8)

of the Philippian Jailor (Acts 16:19-34)

"Who Are Ye?"

(Acts 20: 27-38)

Thought imth Myself (Acts 26:9)

King Agrippa Hears

The Serpent and

the Fire (Acts 28:1-6)

Acts of the Apostles

were by the teachings of Judaism,

Jewish thinking, ceremonies, and connections.

Testament, as shown by F. W. Grant, is form of a Pentateuch, patterned after the Pen-

nation as such finally and fully refused and rejected

book of Acts the Jews

(Ephesians 2:16). are seen con-

God's mercy, with the gospel going

attitude towards the Christ since

Acts of the Apostles

Him till the times

enters, for Acts

history, not doctrine.

the mistake of reading

"THE FORMER treatise have I made,

that Jesus began both to do and teach"

through His Name.

truly believe in Jesus,

are going to act

Acts of the Apostles

one work, while

phant shout: "It

finished" (John 19:30).

we must not forget that the Spirit uses you and me

lippians 2:13). Let us for a

consider this "finished